From: rdunkle@aal.itd.umich.edu (R. M. Dunkle)
Subject: PTP FAQ (PURSUE THE PENNANT PC BASEBALL)
Originator: rdunkle@apollo46
Organization: Campus Computing Sites, University of Michigan
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 21:55:46 GMT


	This is the answer to some questions mailed to me by (?)
	(I chopped the header off without thinking. Brilliant me)

	(I should note, I'm not affiliated with PTP or Tippett Software,
	 or anyone)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  o  What version of PtP do you have?
        - V. 4.0 (though I've had all of the versions since 2)

  o  Is it fun?
        - Sure is. I wouldn't have it, otherwise

  o  Is it worth $75?
        - If you want a statistics-based baseball simulator, it is.
          Remember, the ($amount) includes everything you need - full
          (and I mean full) stat-keeping, player and schedule editing,
          computer manager...

  o  Does it break baseball rules?
     ((For example: Bringing in a pitcher or player who was in the game
       but was removed earlier.  Giving a win to a starter who doesn't
       go the minimum five innings.))

        - Not that I've ever seen. Never once. It even does saves right.
          (the judgement call ones, it must have some algorithm for)

  o  What does the screen (or screens) look like, generally?
     ((Is it graphical, part-graphical, or all text?))

        - All text

     ((Is there a baseball diamond arranged on the screen if it's text?))

        - Yes. I'd wanted to just include a screen shot. I'll approximate one.

  Batting    | curr. |               cf name
  lineup     | batter|  lf name      rng  arm     rf name
  (current   | stats |  rng  arm                  rng  arm
   batter    |       |
   hi-lited) |       |      ss name   00     2b name
 ---------------------      rng       00     rng   1b name
  Menu and all play  |3b nm        pitcher name    rng
  Descriptions       |rng 00                        00
                     |    00                        00
                     |                00      1b runner
                     |                00      run speed; steal:
 --------------------------------------------------------jump:--
 def play  |              1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  r h e    | O S
 inf depth | yr teamname  0 0 1 0                        | (outs,
 off play  | yr teamname  0 0 2                          |   strikes)

       ((Is the pitcher, batter & on-deck hitter shown (their names)?
         Are the baserunners shown (names)?
         Are the positions of the fielders shown?))

            - See above poorly-done screen - I'll reproduce one later
                ** The real screen is not poorly done, or crowded **

         Is the bullpen shown (names)?

            - Actually, I think it is if you use the warm-up rule

         How is the result of an at-bat displayed?

            - "Line drive to center (delay)
               it falls in for a single (delay)
               Smith,L takes second on the play
               OFFENSE: Send Smith,L to third? (y/n)"

                The length of the (pause) is set by the user - there are
                5 speeds.

         Does the result have any suspense, or does it suddenly pop up
             on the screen?

            - See above

         What colors are used?

            - It's text, but you can choose all of the colors, background,
              highlighted, etc.

  o  Are important stats easy to get to?

            - Yes

       ((The pitcher's current fatigue rating (if any)
       ((The batter & on-deck hitter
       ((The baserunner's abilities
       ((The stats for guys on the bench & in the bullpen

            - The batter's stats (real and simulation) are in view, in short
              form, at all times. F8 highlights the current batter in the
              lineup, and lets you move up and down the lineup and get a
              full screen of stats for any hitter. F6 gives you a page on
              the pitcher, and F7 and F5 give you the "roster" screens
              for the offense and defense, respectively. From there you
              can:  - substitute
                    - see full stats for any player
                    - make defensive changes
                    - everything else

  o  Are player's abilities accurately reflected in PtP?

            - As much as in any other stats-based game, yes. They seem to
              come out, not only reasonably, but with the same sort of
              deviation as in real life - some people may have good years,
              but some will have bad, about the same % as in real life

  o  Is pitcher fatigue handled decently?
      -- For one game, a series, and a season?

            - Yes, Yes, and Yes. Very well. The sturdiest guys can start
              every 4th day. It keeps track of batters faced for the
              last five games for each pitcher (visible on the main pitching
              roster screen, no less!)

  o  As a manager, can you do everything during a game you want to?

            - Well, within the limits of baseball. Yes. :)

  o  Can you create your own plays, on offense and defense?

            - I think you're thinking of another sport. You can bunt,
              hit & run, do shifts, and so on. No double-back flea-
              flickers, though.

  o  Is the computer manager challenging?

            - You can program it. It'll make decent decisions about who
              it uses (you can program that, too). It judges players.
              Again, this comes into play more in other sports. It doesn't
              do anything stupid unless you program it to.

  o  Can you create & save your own computer manager, so the computer will
       manage a team like you want it to instead of how it was programmed to?

            - See above

  o  Can you play someone over the modem?

            - Nope. You can transfer stats around, or exchange managers,
              or something

  o  Can you download stats into the game?

            - No, alas. Maybe in version 5.0

  o  How many players can you have on your team at one time?

            - 40 on a roster. as many available for games as you decide.

  o  During season play, is there a Disabled List or something similar?

            - No, but you can't use a guy if he's injured. You can change
              your "active" roster between games. Just keep 25 guys active,
              or something. More gets too hard to sift through. :)

  o  Can you enter your own player's stats (abilities) or modify existing ones?
       ((If yes, is this very difficult to do?

            - Yes you can, and no, it's not hard at all. It even lets you
              enter stats into a few different styles of page, depending on
              what you're working out of - Elias, Sporting News, MacMillan

  o  Can you trade players from one team to another?

            - Yes, by releasing them from one and adding them to another.
              They'll keep the "season" stats they had, or you can set them
              to zero. A player can only be on one team at a time.

  o  Can you create a league of your own with your own team name, your
         own players, and your own schedule?

            - Yep.

  o  Is a boxscore and/or game summary generated for each game?

            - Yes indeed. Both. A comprehensive play-by-play scoresheet,
              and a full, extended boxscore. Now in version 4.0, you can even
              check either of these during the game.

  o  Can you capture individual and/or team stats for a league?

            - I don't know what you mean by this. You can update the stats
              after the game, yes. Just choose "update".

  o  During a game/series/season, do injuries come into play?

            - Yep. You can set it to none, actual (each guy has an "injury-
              prone rating, seems accurate, i.e. doesn't peg part-timers
              as injury-prone), or random

  o  Are there different stadiums & associated stadium factors?
       ((Grass vs. Artificial turf?

            - Yes. You can even edit the stadium factors, from Elias or
              wherever.

  o  When you're playing a friend, is it difficult to enter commands without
         having your "signs" stolen?  (I.E., your friend sees what you're
         telling the computer to do for you.)

            - Well, I guess. It doesn't really matter. You don't choose
              pitch location, and the sequence it asks for them is pretty
              reasonable. Baseball doesn't realy have a problem with that.
              The only real surprise thing is stealing, and there is no
              pitchout option.

  o  How are limited-season players handled?
       ((For example: Joe Smith plays for 20 games and hits .345 in the
             process.  What stops me from playing him 160 games when I
             replay the season?

            - PTP displays the % the player has played as opposed to real
              life - if he played 100 ab in real life, and he played 200
              ab so far in the simulation, you'd see Play %: 200%, or
              something very like that, when you looked at his stats.
              How much you actually play him is up to you. The computer
              manager can be told how much to play people.

  o  Is the copy-protection a pain-in-the-butt or just annoying?
      -- # word of page #, code wheel, ...?

            - There isn't any. Hopefully, it's a good enough program that
              people will feel like the company deserves their money (I
              sure do!), and not spread it around. Please don't. Those
              of us who bought it will get screwed out of upgrades, etc.







-- 
	Brian A. Dunkle               |          "Dig Zebrox!"
	rdunkle@aal.itd.umich.edu <---|--->    bad@emunix.emich.edu
	------------------------------|----------------------------
        <I wish I knew some cool pro-bicycling tag-lines, but.....>