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A.F.L. Pro Football
(C) 1996 Brendan O'Brien
NOTE: THIS PROGRAM IS SHAREWARE. IT MAY BE FREELY DISTRIBUTED AS LONG
AS ALL THE FILES ON THE DISK ARE INCLUDED AND NOT ALTERED IN ANY WAY.
The disk should contain the following files:
AFL.SAV
AFL_SW.PRG
DESKTOP.INF
PLAYDAT.DAT
READ_ME
\SAMPLES\
CHEERHI.SAM
CHEERLOW.SAM
CLATTER.SAM
HUT.SAM
PING.SAM
\PLR_GRFX\
PLRS_D.DAT
PLRS_L.DAT
PLRS_R.DAT
PLRS_U.DAT
\GRAPHICS.DAT\
3D_FANS2.NEO
3D_NUMS.DAT
3D_POSTS.DAT
ARROWS.DAT
BALLS.DAT
BIGFONT.DAT
BIGFONT2.DAT
BIGFONU.DAT
CROSSBAR.DAT
FANS_BOT.NEO
FANS_TOP.NEO
FLAG_BLU.NEO
FONT.DAT
GAMEFONT.DAT
GAME_FNT.DAT
KICKMTR.DAT
LIGHTS.DAT
NUMBERS.DAT
PANL_ARR.DAT
PANL_TXT.DAT
PATCH.DAT
PLAYS_D1.DAT
PLAYS_O1.DAT
PLAY_ARW.DAT
POSTS.DAT
REPLAY.DAT
SBOWL.NEO
SCRB_TXT.DAT
STADIUM.NEO
STARROW.DAT
TITLE.DAT
TITLEB.DAT
TITLEC.DAT
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Greetings, and welcome to the shareware release of AFL Pro Football
an American football action game for the Atari STE with a minimum
memory of 1 megabyte. I had originally intended to release it as a
commercial game but the 16 bit games market has long since dried up.
And having spent so much time on it I thought I should still release
it, so here it is as shareware. It was also supposed to work on the
520 STFM but the first version was just to slow and the game was bobbins
anyway. So I decided to start again and since then the game has just
kept growing and evolving to fill all available memory, and still
there are many improvements I would like to make, but there just isn't
the memory and I had to stop sometime or I'd never get the thing released.
Anyway there aren't a lot of American football games for the ST, so
I hope you enjoy this one.
RIGHT. First some info about the game.
You'll need an STE with at least 1 meg of memory, a joystick plugged
into port 1, and port 0 (the mouse port) for player two if necessary.
Features of the game include an overhead view and a 3D view. I never
planned to do the 3D view when I started, but when I saw these new
super consoles with their flash 3D graphics I thought I would try
it, and as it turned out it proved relatively easy to do, and its
the only version I ever use now. But the overhead view has more detail
with its grassy pitch and stadium surround, and it runs a little faster,
so you makes your choice...
Other features allow to select your team from 28 NFL sides. (The original
version was start before the recent league expansions and that is
why the new sides aren't in there. Something for a future version
perhaps.) You can then play against a friend or the com- puter in
a one off game, start the season in the play- offs, or play through
the entire season and go for the Superbowl. You can also set the length
of game, change the type of pitch surface and set the skill level.
Gameplay lets you pass, run, kick, block, tackle and catch. The players
and pitch are more or less to scale and everything moves at real world
speed so you'll have to think fast.
Play calling is straight forward and although there aren't 100's
of plays to choose from, mainly due to lack of disk and memory
space, I hope there are enough. To all those who are more familiar
with the real game than I, and who might think some of the plays
are a little strange, well I bow to your superior knowledge, but
what do you expect from a non American who has never played the
real game anyway and has no wish to end up in hospital trying to
play it either. I would have liked to include a play designer but
I think it would be quite tricky to do and some of the CPU play
calling code would have to be changed so that the computer could
use any new plays as well. But that's something else for a future
version.
The player AI is quite detailed and was by far the most time con-
suming part to complete. It has gone through quite a bit of
tweaking to try and get each player to act as realistically as
possible so I hope it gives you a challenging game.
The players also have momentum so they behave realistically when running
and colliding with one and other.
And there is also a replay mode so you can review the last 10 se-
conds or so of action at several different speeds.
------------------------------
Version details
Listed below are changes that have been made to each version.
The original version is incompatible with TOS 2 and the Falcon
ver 1.01
The original
ver 1.02
An attempted fix to make it compatible with TOS 2 and the Falcon.
The sound effects routines may also cause problems with the Falcon
so if you press s on the title screen you can now switch them off.
A slight glitch with the sprites when being clipped off the left hand
side of the screen has been fixed.
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Now for the registration details.
The unregistered version only lets you play the first half of a game
between San Fransisco and New York. You can still change all the options
but most will have no effect.
If having played this little taster and decided you like it, you can
then register your copy, and in return you will be sent de- tails
on how to access the full game. To register send a cheque/postal order
for œ5 pounds payable to:
Brendan O'Brien
22 Garron Crescent
LARNE
Co. Antrim
N. Ireland
BT40 2AT.
----------------------
Well I think that's about it. If you have any comments, bug reports
or suggested improvements then I can be contacted at the above address.
MANY THANKS
Brendan. October 1996
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And finally the instructions.
To run AFL double click on AFL_SW.PRG. When the game has loaded press
fire to get past the title screen.
RULES OVERVIEW
American football is played on a pitch one hundred yards long which
is divided into five yard sections, which are further divi- ded by
one yard markers. At each end of the pitch there is an Endzone and
the prime objective is to move the ball up the pitch into the opposing
teams endzone to score Touchdowns. To move the ball, the attacking
team, called the offense, is given a series of 4 plays, called downs,
to advance the ball at least 10 yards, by either passing the ball
or carrying it forward, thus the term "2nd and 8" would mean the team
is on its 2nd down and has 8 yards to go to get a "First Down", and
so get another series of 4 downs to continue moving up the field towards
the opposing side's endzone. If the Offense fail to get the necessary
yards within the 4 downs then the defense will take over possession
and so become the of- fense.
A touchdown, worth 6 points, can be scored either by carrying the
ball into the opposition endzone or by catching the ball in the endzone
and having full control of the ball.
Emmediately following a touchdown the offensive team then has a choice
of going for an extra point attempt where the ball must be kicked
between the uprights from a few yards behind the goal line to gain
1 point, or a two point attempt where the team have one play and must
get the ball back into the endzone from the two yard line to be successful.
If at the end of a game the scores are level then an extra quarter
of overtime will be played with the team to score first winning the
game.
MENU SYSTEM
OPTIONS
Move the joystick up/down to choose and press fire to select.
TEAM SELECTION
Select a team for player 1 or player 2 and the computer.
Move the joystick left/right to choose player 1 or 2, then move the
joystick up/down to change the team.
Press fire to exit.
Stars below the team name show the abilities of each team in dif-
ferent offensive and defensive positions. The first 14 teams are in
the AFC the others are in the NFC.
GAME SET-UP
Move the joystick up/down to choose and left/right to change.
Press fire to exit.
50/60 hertz toggle
50 hertz - normal view.
60 hertz - Increases the size of screen if your TV is capable of a
60 hertz display.
Skill Level - A choice of 3 skill levels.
Pitch Type - A choice of 4 playing surfaces.
Grass.
Indoor.
Ice - Pitch is very slippery. Cold weather makes handling the ball
more difficult.
Mud - Players run slower down centre of pitch. Pitch is slippery.
Quarter Length - Set the length of the quarters from 5 to 15 mi- nutes.
View mode - Play the game in 3D or in overhead mode.
GAME TYPE
Move the joystick up/down to choose and press fire to select.
Demo Game - Watch the computer play.
1 Player game - Single game against the computer.
2 Player game - Single game between 2 players.
1 Player Championship - 1 player competes in a full season of 16 games
and then the play-offs to try and win the Superbowl.
2 Player Championship - 2 players compete in a full season of 16 games
and then the play-offs to try and win the Superbowl.
Note: All the teams are divided into two confrences, the AFC and the
NFC, and each conference is divided into three divisions. To qualify
for the play-offs a team must win their division or be one of the
top two divisionel runners- up in their conference.
1 Player play-off - 1 Player starts in the play-offs.
2 player play-off - 2 players start in the play-offs.
Note: The play-offs are played in a knock out basis to find the
two conference champions. These two teams will then compete for the
Superbowl. The two divisional winners with the best record in each
conference enter the play-offs proper and will play the winners of
the wild card games which the other 4 qualifiers will play in.
CHAMPIONSHIP AND PLAY-OFF GAMES
Move the joystick up/down to choose and press fire to select.
Play Next Game.
View Tables. - Look at the current divisional tables. Move up/down
for next table. Press fire to exit.
View Play-off Standings. - Shows which teams would currently make
the play-offs or the results if already in the play-offs. Move up/down
for next table. Press fire to exit.
Load Game. - Load a previously saved game.
Save Game. - Save the current game.
Quit season. - Return to the options menu.
PLAYING THE GAME
PLAYER CONTROL
On offense you will always have control of the player with the ball.
On defense you will be given control of one of the players before
each play starts.
The player you are in control of will be indicated by a marker underneath
him.
Movement - The player can move in all 8 joystick directions.
CARRYING THE BALL
Breaking tackles - While carrying the ball you can try to break tackles
by pressing and holding the fire button. The longer you hold it the
better chance you have of success. However you also increase the chances
of fumbling the ball.
Diving - A short tap of the fire button will allow to dive to try
and gain a few extra yards when you know you are going to be tackled
or you can try to go over the top of a player by releasing the joystick
and quickly pressing the fire button.
DEFENDING
Tackling - As a defensive player you must try to stop the ball carrier
by tackling him or forcing him out of bounds. To tackle press the
fire button when close to the carrier or just run into him. If you
want to try and strip the ball loose and force the carrier to fumble
the ball, then continue to hold the fire button, however the longer
you hold the button decreases the chances of making a clean tackle.
THE KICK OFF
Kicking the ball - When all the players are in position the kickmeter
will come on.
The Kickmeter is used to set the strength and direction of the kick.
Each marking on the kickmeter represents 10 yards.
First you set the strength by pressing the fire button and holding
it to stop the yellow bar.
Then you release the fire button to stop the white hash mark to set
the direction. (The stronger the kick the less time you have to set
the direction).
The kicker will then kick the ball and all the players on the kicking
team will run down the field to try and stop the kickre- turner.
Receiving the kick - When the ball has been kicked one of the
players on the receiving team will move into position to catch the
ball, while the other players will retreat to try and protect him.
Once the ball has been caught you take control of the kick retur-
ner and must try to advance up the field as far as possible before
being tackled.
ENDING A PLAY
All plays end when the carrier is tackled or if he runs out of bounds.
The next play will then start from where the last one en- ded.
If the ball is fumbled then it is free for anyone to pick it up, take
over possession and continue playing.
PLAY CALLING
When the play selection panel appears you are shown four diagrams
indicating different plays as well as other information about the
state of play.
To view the next or previous four plays move the joystick up or down.
To change the direction of the play from left to right or vice versa
move the joystick left or right.
To select a play press the fire button and push the joystick left
to select the 1st play, up for the 2nd, down for the 3rd and right
for the 4th.
Also displayed is the current score, the down status, time outs remaining
and the current quarter as well as the game and play clocks.
The game clock displays how long is left in the quarter and the play
clock displays how long the offense has to select a play. The defense
will always be given a minimum of 10 seconds to choose a play.
If the offense does not select or start the play before the play clock
runs down then they will be penalised 5 yards for a "Delay of Game"
penalty.
Offensive Plays
Pass receivers are shown in yellow with a line showing their pass
route. A white line indicates a short pass, a yellow line is a medium
pass and an orange line is a long pass.
Running Backs are shown in white with a line showing where they should
run to to help block, or where to carry the ball. The fil- led white
square shows the intended ball carrier. RB's can also act as receivers.
The offensive line is shown in grey with lines indicating pass protection
or run blocking.
Defensive Plays
The defensive line is shown in grey with lines pointing to where they
should attack the offensive line.
The Linebackers are shown in yellow and the Safeties and Corner- backs
are shown in red with different symbols indicating different actions
as shown below.
x Man for man marking
+ Run defense
# Read play before defending against run or pass
o Zone defense. A broken line pointing to a circle shows the player
what zone to cover.
A forward pointing arrow indicates a blitz, where the player will
charge at the QB and attempt to tackle him before he can pass the
ball and thus "Sack" the quarterback.
Starting the Play
When both teams have chosen their plays the players will line up in
formation ready to start.
All plays are started by the Centre who will pass the ball through
his legs (the SNAP) to the Quarterback who will be standing behind
him.
To start the play press, then release the fire button.
RUNNING PLAYS
Offense - When the QB has the ball retreat a short distance and quickly
press fire to transfer the ball to the advancing Running Back. You
will then take control of the RB and must try to advance the ball
as far upfield as possible by avoiding defenders and breaking tackles.
Defense - On defense you must try to contain the offense and pre-
vent them from gaining too many yards.
The play ends when the ball carrier is tackled or he runs out of bounds.
PASSING PLAYS
Offense - After the snap the players on the offensive line (shown
in grey on the play diagrams) will retreat from the line of scrimmage
and form a protective pocket around the QB and attempt to block any
advancing defenders so as to give him enough time to pass the ball.
The Quarterback - On passing plays it is the QB's job to pass the
ball to one of the receivers. When he receives the ball from the snap
the first thing he must do is retreat into the pocket created by his
offensive line, then wait for the receivers to get in po- sition before
throwing the ball.
The QB has two modes of movement. The first allows him to move backwards
slowly. This is the mode he will start in and so long as a receiver
is selected he will stay in. While in this mode, if there is no receiver
selected, then the QB will enter the normal running mode (useful for
evading pursueing defenders). Although the QB can then select a receiver
while in normal mode, and throw the ball, the faster he is moving
the less accurate will be the throw. To get back to the slow mode
you must first stop, then move in a direction which selects a receiver.
The intended receiver will be shown by a large yellow arrow.
When the arrow changes colour to brown the receiver is in position
and ready to receive the pass.
The receiver selected depends on the direction of the joystick as
shown below.
If playing up move the joystick:
joystick receiver
up-left widest left
up nearest centre
up-right widest right
down-right 2nd from left
donw-left 2nd from right
down nearest centre
left widest left, not past line of scrimmage
right widest right, not past line of scrimmage
If playing down move the joystick:
joystick receiver
down-left widest left
down nearest centre
down-right widest right
up-right 2nd from left
up-left 2nd from right
up nearest centre
left widest left, not past line of scrimmage
right widest right, not past line of scrimmage
Passing the ball - To pass the ball press and hold the fire but- ton.
The QB will then wind up to throw the ball.
There are 3 types of pass:
A Quick tap of the fire button will send the ball on a high slow arc.
A slightly longer press for a normal throw.
And finally a longer press again for a fast and low-arc, bullet pass.
Note that the ball will not be thrown straight at the receiver, but
to a point ahead of him so that he will not have to check his run
to stop and catch the ball.
Receiving the ball - Once the ball has been thrown the receiver will
automatically move into position to try and catch it.
To attempt the catch you must press fire when the ball is within range
to jump and then release the fire button as soon as the ball is caught.
If fire is not pressed on time then the ball will not be caught or
if it is not released on time the receiver will drop it. If the ball
is caught you then take full control of the receiver and can move
him to try and gain extra yards.
If noone catches the ball then the pass is ruled incomplete, the play
will end and the next down will start from the same place as the previous
one.
Pass defense - Before the play starts you will have control of one
of the linebackers. You can take control of one of the other de- fensive
backs by pressing fire to cycle through the others. You are also free
to move anywhere on your own side of the line of scrimmage. If you
cross the line of scrimmage the team will be penalised 5 yards for
an "Offside" infringement.
When the play starts you are free to move the player you are in control
of wherever you choose although it is usually best to do what the
player is assigned to do for that chosen play.
After the ball has been passed control will transfer to the player
closest to the intended receiver and the choice must be made whe-
ther to try and stop the receiver catching the ball or to go for the
interception and so take over possession.
While the ball is in the air the player can either jump to try and
catch the ball or he can try to tackle the receiver just as he catches
the ball.
Trying for the interception works the same as for the receiver trying
to catch the ball, although if fire is not being pressed when contact
with the ball is first made then it is assumed the player is trying
to just bat the ball away and so he will be able to reach slightly
higher.
With a short tap of the fire button, the player will launch him- self
at the receiver in an attempt to hit him just as he makes contact
with the ball and so put him off.
Alternatively the defender can wait for the receiver to make the catch
and then hit him as hard as possible before he gains control of the
ball and so force him to drop it.
Once the ball has been caught by either side, the carrier is free
to run with the ball and the play will end when the ball carrier is
tackled or he runs out of bounds.
FIELDGOAL ATTEMPTS
A fieldgoal can be attempted at any time, from anywhere on the pitch,
although they are usually only attempted on fourth down when the team
do not want to risk trying to gain the necessary yards to get another
first down, and are close enough to the goal to have a genuine attempt
at success.
To attempt a fieldgoal, select the FIELDGOAL play from the play calling
panel.
Then when all the players are in position the kickmeter will come
on and you can attempt to kick the ball as described for the kick
off.
For the kick to be successful the ball must go between the up- rights
and over the crossbar. A fieldgoal is worth three points.
If fieldgoal is selected the defensive formation will be selected
automatically.
On defense you will have control of one of the backs and can at- tempt
to charge through the offensive line at the kicker and block the ball
by pressing fire to jump.
PUNTING
If the offense is not close enough to the goal to go for the fieldgoal
then they could punt the ball instead, by kicking the ball as far
upfield as possible and so giving up possession.
To punt, select PUNT from the play calling panel.
Then when all the players are in position the kickmeter will come
on and you can attempt to kick the ball as described for the kick
off.
After the kick all your players will run down the field and at- tempt
to stop the carrier.
If punt is selected the defensive formation will be selected au- tomatically.
On defense, when the ball is kicked the punt returner will move into
position to catch the ball. When the catch is made you will take direct
control of him and must attempt to run with the ball as far back down
the field as possible before being tackled.
When the play has ended you will then start a new series of downs.
EXTRA POINT AND TWO POINT ATTEMPTS
After scoring a touchdown, the offense have the opportunity to go
for an extra point attempt by successfully kicking the ball at goal
to gain another 1 point.
To try for the extra point select EXTRA POINT from the play call-
ing panel, then follow the instructions for taking a field- goal.
Alternativly the offense can try for a two point attempt where they
are given one play to try and get the ball back into the endzone from
the 2 yard line.
To go for the 2 points just select a play as in normal play.
After either attempt, whether successful or not, the offense will
kick off from their own 30 yard line to restart play.
CONCEDING A SAFETY
A safety is conceded when the ball carrier on the offense is tackled
inside his own endzone or if he runs out of bounds from his endzone.
A safety scores two points and the team conceding the safety must
then kick off to restart play.
If a defensive player gains possession of the ball and is tackled
in his own endzone then the team will start their next play play from
their 20 yard line. This is known as a Touchback.
TIME OUTS
From the play calling panel you can select a TIME OUT to stop the
clock. Time outs are mostly used near the end of a half when your
team is getting beat and the clock hasn't stopped, so as to save a
little time between plays.
To return to the game press the fire button.
Each team is given three time outs per half.
GAME STATISTICS
During breaks in the game you can review the passing and running statistics
of both teams by moving the joystick up or down. To return to the
game press the fire button.
The passing stats show the number of completions, attempted passes,
interceptions and the amount of yards gained from passing the ball,
while the running stats show the number of attempted runs and the
yards gained from running.
REPLAYS
During play you can review the previous play before the next play
starts, or replay the current play.
To view the replay press the R key. You can then use the function
keys to control the replay as follows.
F1 Fast reverse
F2 Normal reverse
F3 Slow motion reverse
F4 Single frame reverse
F5 Stop
F6 Single frame advance
F7 Slow motion advance
F8 Normal playback
F9 Fast forward
F10 Exit
PAUSE - To pause and and restart the game press P.
QUIT - To quit the current game press Q. |
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Sound Features digitized sound fx at 6.2KHz (stereo)
Graphics Features up to 24 colours on-screen simultaneously (options or static screen)
Hardware Supports Blitter Supports STe DMA sound Supports STe palette Supports STe hardware scrolling
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