PLAYING BIG LEAGUE SOCCER II The object of the game is to take your fourth division team to the first division League Championship. Each season consists of 42 matches, 2 against each of the other 21 teams in the division. Each match is viewed in 3D highlights, the result of which is dependent upon: the comparison between the two teams, home advantage, current form, skill level and also a bit of luck! At the end of the season the top three teams are promoted to the next highest division (except if you are already in division 1 of course), while the bottom three teams of divisions 1 to 3 are relegated. [screenshot] FULL LEAGUE TABLE FA CUP Every season there is an FA Cup competition. The first round is played after the 14th league game and further rounds are played after every four league games, possibly culminating in the Wembley Cup Final at the end of the season. A cup draw is featured from round 4 onwards, and these results are shown after the game highlights. First and second division clubs enter the cup at the third round stage. FEATURES: FA Cup competition Choice of 8 team colours Transfer market - buy and sell 5 different skill levels Full league tables - 22 teams in each league Penalties Four divisions - 88 teams to choose from Pick team for each match Choice of 3 team kit styles Players have Energy, Skill and Form ratings Promotion and relegation 'Videprinter' style match results Fixtures and results table Weekly Club news including: 1. Ground improvements 2. Sponsorship deals 3. TV appearances 4. Crowd trouble 5. 'Team of the Month' Award Home and away games Financial accounts Change names option Save game option Managerial rating and score Suspensions Five different injuries Automatic 'save team' selection Half time change ends Match highlights in 3D graphics LOADING To load 'Big League Soccer II', insert the BLS II disc, then type RUN"DISC" and press ENTER. The game will now load. LOADING AND SAVING GAME When the program has loaded you will be asked if you would like to load a previously saved game. If you wish to, press Y and insert the saved-game disc. Once the game has loaded, replace the BLS II disc in the drive. The game cannot be played if the master disc is not present. To save a game choose the 'S' option and insert a blank disc. Again, remember to replace the master disc once saving is complete. TRANSFER MARKET BUYING: You may bid for a player unless you have less than £5000, or you already have 22 players. Players' values are negotiable, however, bidding less than the player's value may result in your bid being rejected. When this occurs, the player's value increases by £ 10,000. SELLING: You may put a player up for sale as long as you have more than 12 players in your squad. Only players who are fit and are not suspended may be sold. To prevent continual buying and selling of players, the TRANSFER MARKET option may only be selected 4 times between each match. However, to speed up your transfer deals, this option will only be loaded from disc on the first occasion, providing no other options are chosen between transfer deals. CHANGE NAMES This option allows you to change not only the team and player names, but also the skill level and team colour. New names have a maximum length the same as the previous names, i.e. EVERTON could be changed to any other name up to 7 characters in length. MANAGERIAL RATING The managerial rating is calculated at the end of each season. Your score is increased every time you win or draw a game, and is dependent on the skill level. PLAY NEXT MATCH This option will display your opponents, the venue and various comparisons between the two teams. Pressing a key will take you to the team selection screen. You should try to pick the team in the following formation: No. 1 - goalkeeper, 2 to 5 - defenders, 6 to 8 - midfield, 9 to 11 - forwards, substitute - any position. If you wish to pick the some team as the last match, press S, you may then make any necessary changes. This option will have no effect on the first game after loading BLS II, as there will be no previous team selection. Players playing out of position will be less effective, as will be players whose energy levels fall below 50%. However, if you have a shortage of defenders, you may use spare goalkeepers as defenders without any loss in effectiveness. Injured and suspended players may be picked to make up a full team of twelve, but they will not contribute to the game. When making changes to the team, you may only add a player who has not already been picked to play. When you are happy with the team you may proceed to watch the highlights of the game. Your team (playing in shirts of your selected colour and style, and block shorts) always kick right-to-left in the first half. Your opponents always wear black shirts. After the final result the weeks accounts are displayed. The home team keeps all gate receipts. The wages are calculated as a fraction of the total value of all players in the squad. Therefore, the more expensive players you buy, the higher the wages bill. Once the other results have been displayed, you may be informed of injuries or suspensions affecting your team. There may also be some club news. This might be good news, like a TV appearance fee, or some bad news such as fines for crowd trouble. END OF SEASON After the last game of the season you will be given a bonus, and depending on your league position, may be relegated or promoted. Players skill ratings (Sk) will be reassessed and may be slightly adjusted for the new season. Energy ratings (En) will be increased, while the form ratings (Fm) will remain about constant. BEING SACKED There are two definite ways of being sacked: i) Finishing in the bottom three of Division 4. ii) Ending the season in debt. You may also be sacked for getting relegated. HINTS AND TACTICS 1. When picking your team, select players with the highest combined skill and form ratings. 2. Form ratings fluctuate with the teams' fortunes, but skill ratings remain constant throughout the season. Therefore a player with Sk:8, Fm:3 is more useful than a player with Sk:3, Fm:8 as his form rating can improve by 6 points making his combined total 17. The second player's maximum total is only 12. 3. When players' energy ratings get into the 50's, try and rest the players for a few games. Players become less effective when their energy falls below 50%. 4. Buy and sell players regularly to maintain a team with high energy ratings. 5. Always pick your best team - even against teams who appear to be weaker than yourselves. 6. Before playing your first game, look of your squad by choosing the 'T' option, followed by 'S' to sell a player. Try to strengthen your team before the start of the season, as it is important that you get off to a good start. All rights of the producer and of the owner of the work being produced are reserved. Unauthorised copying, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting of the cassettre is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, nor liability for damage arising from its use. WARNING: These programs are sold according to VIPER SOFTWARE LTD terms of trade and conditions of sale, copies of which are available on request. (c) 1986 VIPER SOFTWARE Bag League Soccer was written by Adam Whitlock