WELCOME TO FOOTBALL FANATIC (BETA VERSION) INDEX I. PREFACE 1. INTRODUCTION 2. HOW TO PLAY 3. CUPS EFL Cup Elite Cup Toto Cup World Club Cup 4. GETTING STARTED 5. IMPORTANT KEYS 6. OFF SEASON Transfers Loaning Players Funding Programs Stadium Improvements Friendlies Cards during off-season 7. REGULAR SEASON Cup Tied Players International Players Transfer Market Loaning Players Ticket Prices Suspensions Substitutions Injuries and Expulsions Penalty Shootouts Scouting The Chairman 8. FINANCES 9. STUCK 10. APPENDIX - TOP 48 TEAMS 11. COUNTRY CODES I. PREFACE This document should provide you some information on playing Football Fanatic. This is not a complete work because the game is going through constant change. 1. INTRODUCTION Football Fanatic is text based soccer manager simulation. Our premise is European teams have banned together to form a European super league. The league consists of 4 divisions with 16 teams. You play a 30 game/32 week regular season, with a 18 week off season. There are also 4 cups to be won (see CUPS for more information). The top three regular season finishers are promoted to the next division except for the first division, and the bottom three are relegated. Relegation from the fourth division leads to your termination. You are in charge of all aspects of running a football club. All the hiring and firing of players and personnel is up to you. You must select the starting 11, run practices, promote youth players, make treatment decisions on injured players, setting ticket prices, and much more. 2. HOW TO PLAY Footy Fanatic is keyboard driven and does not use a mouse. The most important keys are the cursor keys (the ones with the arrows on them), the Escape key (Esc, top left-hand corner), and the Enter key. Every screen has a highlighter that is controlled by the cursor keys. To execute a command highlight the option and press Enter. Some screens allow you to use the number keys to bypass highlighting and pressing Enter. Use the Escape key to exit a screen. There are to modes of play: generic and realistic. Generic mode will either rank and place the top 48 teams in the 3 divisions at random, or according to our ranking of the top 48 teams. In generic mode, Ajax could be the worst team in the league. The players will be assigned fictional/random abilities. No matter what team you select, you will begin in the 4th division in 16th place. Realistic mode ranks the top 48 teams according to domestic and cup performances over the last five years. Should you choose Ajax and play the realistic version, you will begin in the 1st division. Should you select a team that is not in the top 48, your team will be the 16th in the 4th division. On-line help can be accessed through the F1 key. A window will pop up into the middle of the screen with instructions. Some of the windows have more information than the window can fit. Use the Up/Down cursor keys to scroll. Anytime you see in the on-line help it means press the Enter key. Player positions have been colour coded: red names=keepers green names=defenders blue names=midfielders yellow names=strikers 3. CUPS There are four cups to Football Fanatic. The following is a provides some information about each cup. EFL Cup - When is it played? During the regular season. Weeks 2/4, 7/9, 12/14, 17/19, 22/24 and the final on week 30. - Who's in it? All the teams from all the divisions. - Format? Two leg series, home and away. Final is one game on neutral ground. - Who moves on? Series are decided by total goals. Penalty shots only used if tied after second game. Elite Cup - When is it played? During the regular season. Weeks 8, 16, 26 and 31. - Who's in it? First division teams only. - Format? One game. Final is on a neutral venue. - Who moves on? Winner of the match. Penalty shots can decide winner. Toto Cup Because of the high number of transfers during the off-season players will not be cup-tied during the off-season. - When is it played? During the off season. Round 1 on weeks 5,6, 7, Round 2 on weeks 9,10,11, Round 3 on weeks 13,14,15, and the final on week 17. - Who's in it?. 4th, 5th and 6th place finishers from each division plus four European guest teams. - Format? Round robin. 4 sections of 4 teams. Top 2 advance. Top 8 are divided into 2 divisions. Another round robin. Top 4 move on. Last 4 play one more round robin. Final two play one game for Toto Cup. All matches are played on neutral venues. Two stadiums per group. If your stadium is selected you will earn some extra money. World Club Cup - When is it played? Week 17 of off season. - Who's in it? Top finisher from the 1st division, and an international squad. - Format? One game. - Who moves on? Seek help if you can't figure this out. In Cup matches, if the final result after regulation time cannot decide a winner, the teams will play two additional 15 minute halves. If there is still no winner then the game will be decided by penalty shoot-out. When viewing cup results you may come across something such as: Team A (2)+ 3:3 (2) Team B (2) and (2) mean that after regular time the game ended in a 2:2 tie. 3:3 indicates the score after extra time. The "+" designates that Team A won the penalty shoot-out. 4. STARTING A NEW GAME When you begin a new game, half the story of how you became the manager ("How it All Began") of the club comes up. Esc exits. The first step is to select the team you wish to manage. Use the Up/Down cursor keys to scroll through the available teams. The bottom left hand corner will have a partial listing of the teams, the top right hand corner will show the team's national flag (indicates what country the team is from), and the right hand side will list the players on the highlighted team. to select a team. The next step is to select the scenario you wish to play. Football Fanatic can be played with realistic team rankings or generic rankings. Every time you begin a new you will have to chose between real and generic rankings. The real ranking options seeds the first 48 teams (first 3 divisions) by UEFA's rankings of the top European sides over the last 5 years. Teams in the last division are chosen randomly. Generic ranking will either place the top 48 teams in the first three divisions at random, or seed them according to our ranking system. Highlight choice . Now enter your name (team's present manager will already be entered, to erase it), sex (m or f), and currency ("d" for dollars, or "p" for pounds). Once this step is completed, a series of messages will appear: 1. stating the team you work for, length of your contract, and goal 2. outline your sponsors, their contribution, and length of contract 3. list of foreign players on your club (if any) 4. how much you have to pay in mandatory league fees This should get you started. The rest of the document will not be as detailed, but should be helpful nonetheless. 5. IMPORTANT KEYS The following is a list of screens and the keys that perform a function: Main Squad: I - 4 page report on the highlighted player. Page up/down for other pages. U - make notes on a player, page 3 of player info S - sorts players by goals, form, skill, energy, games, salary, value, and age B - places best eleven in starting line-up TAB - displays command keys (left hand column) Left/Right - toggles team's player stats Reserve/ Main Squad: I - 4 page report on the highlighted player, Page Up/Down for other pages V - places best players into main squad (when highlighter is on reserve side of screen) O - reserve squad information (when highlighter is on reserve side of the screen) Youth Team: I - 4 page report on the highlighted player, Page Up/Down for other pages Formations: B- places best players in starting line-up Contracts: I - information on highlighted player S - sorts players by value, skill, salary, goals this season, games this season, goals for club, games played for club, age, position Transfer List: I - information on highlighted player S - sorts players by position, skill, rating, value, age, goals, games, and country 6. OFF SEASON Do not rush through the off season. This is often the best, and sometimes only, time to make changes. Transfers During the early weeks of the off season, the transfer market is loaded with players that might help your club. By the end of the off season the market is bogged down with players nobody wants and players no one can afford. Players can be bought and sold throughout the off season. You can attempt to buy players directly from a team, but these players will be more expensive that a similarly skilled player on the market. Use the search options on the Scouting & Transfer screen to find player not on the market. You can place up to 10 (ten) of your players on the market at one time. Once you place a player on the transfer market, he will be removed from your roster. If he is not sold by the end of the off season, and his contract has expired, it will have to be renegotiated should you choose to keep him. Loaning Players Players cannot be loaned, nor will players be offered on loan, during this time. Stadium Improvements The off season is the only time you can upgrade your stadium and surrounding facilities. Friendlies Before the first week of the off season you can how many friendlies you wish to play. These matches will be played during the off weeks of the Toto Cup. Cards during off-season There is no carry over of cards during the off-season. If a player gets a red card in a friendly or Toto Cup mtach he will be sent off, but he will be available for the next match. 7. REGULAR SEASON The regular season lasts 32 weeks, and consists of 30 games. During this time, the Elite and EFL Cups will be played, as well as, the EFL qualification tournament. For info on cups see CUPS. Cup Tied Players A player is considered cup-tied if he played a cup game in the regular season (EFL or Elite Cup) for a team other than his current team. Footy will let you know when you have a player in this situation by giving you a message and in the squad screen he will have a white lowercase "c" next to his name. International Players A player is considered an international if: 1. he was not born in a European Community country (excluding Norway, Switzerland and Iceland), or 2. he is European but his country does not have a club in the EFL. Note, the definition of a domestic player can change from year to year as teams get introduced or dropped from the EFL. It's a good idea to know who will join the EFL in the next season, so you can buy international player which next season will be considered domestic, or 3. he was not born in Europe Transfer Market The transfer market works the same way as it does in the off season with one exception: players cannot be bought or sold after the 24th week. Loaning Players You can have up to 4 players out on loan at one time. You can loan players, and receive players on loan, up until the 25th week. Ticket Prices Ticket price will affect attendance. To change a ticket price highlight the price you wish to change with the Up\Down cursor keys. The Left\Right cursor keys will raise or lower the price. Your ticket price should reflect the division you are playing in. Ticket price will also affect the number of season tickets sold. Suspensions If a player receives two yelow cards in a match he will be credited for having received 1 yellow and 1 red, not 2 yellow cards. The following is a break down of suspensions; who suspensions are earned and their length. 1 match suspension - after a player's 3rd and 5th yellow card of the season and 1st and 2nd red card 2 match suspension - after a player's 7th and 9th yellow card of the season and 3rd and 4th red card 3 match suspension - after a player's 11th yellow card of the season, 4th red card and every subsequent red card Transfered players take their card and suspension count with them when they go to a new team. Substituions Up to three players (non-keepers) may be substituted. Keepers can only be changed once.To make a change you must first make the request. It may be a few minuted before you have the chance to make the change. Players who have been taken out of the game cannot re-enter later on in the same match. Remember the number of internationals you are allowed to field. You cannot substitute cup-tied players in cup matches. S allows you to change player positions. Player positions can be changed at any time during a match. Keepers cannot be moved. Injuried and Expulsions Seriously injured players may be subsituted immediately if you have not used all your substituions. If your back-up keeper gets injured a defender will be placed in goal. Expelled players cannot be substituted. Expelled keepers will be replaced by a defender on the field. Penalty Shootouts You will select 7 players to take the shots. If the game is not decided by the first 7 shooters, they will be recycled. Funding The ammount of money placed into a program is directly related to its success. The more money it gets, the more successful it will be. Scouting Your league scout is looking for bargain players. Make sure that he is looking in the right places. If you're looking for a 75-class player, the Serie D is probably not the best place to find him. Your international scout will more often than not find good deals. Once these players spend some time in the EFL their value will often go up a great deal. You will have between 2 and 4 weeks to sign these players found by your scouts. So if you don't have the money to buy a player don't worry. You will have a chance to raise the money. The Chairman What a guy. Different chairman will have different personalities. Make him happy and he will cut you some slack. Irritate him and it won't matter how well you do. You can almost count on him to throw you some extra cash at the end of the season. 8. FINANCES There are several sources of income, and many expenses. Do not run the club into bankruptcy. Need money sell a player or ask the chairman for a loan. 9. STUCK If you get stuck somewhere, hit the Escape key. Remember this is a beta version. It has not been fully debugged. We are releasing the beta version because so many people have asked to have a peek at Football Fanatic. If the game crashes and/or stalls your system please don't send us flame mail. 10. APPENDIX - TOP 48 TEAMS Serie A Serie B Serie C Juventus Fiorentina B M'Gladbach Ajax Man United Arsenal AC Milan Steaua Celtic Barcelona Panathinaikos Newcastle FC Porto B Dortmund PSV PSG Rangers Hajduk Split Anderlecht At. Madrid Brondby Spartak Moscow Club Brugge AEK Bayern Munich Alaniya Metz Real Madrid Feyenoord Rapid Vienna Auxerre Liverpool Fenerbahce Parma Ferencvaros Sporting Real Zaragoza Monaco Dinamo Moscow Benfica Nantes Werder Bremen Dynamo Kiyv Grasshoppers IFK Goteborg AS Roma Internazionale Bordeaux 11. COUNTRY CODES AFG - Afghanistan ALB - Albania ALG - Algeria AND - Andora ANG - Angola ARM - Armenia AZB - Azerbaijan ARG - Argentina AUS - Australia AUT - Austria BAH - Bahamas BEL - Belgium BEN - Benin BLR - Belarus BOL - Bolivia BOS - Bosnia/Hercegovnia BRA - Brazil BUL - Bulgaria CAM - Cameroon CAN - Canada CAP - Cape Verde CHA - Chad CHI - People's Republic of China CHL - Chile COL - Colombia COS - Costa Rica CRO - Croatia CUB - Cuba CYP - Cyprus CZE - Czech Republic DEN - Denmark DMC - Dominica DOM - Dominican Republic ECU - Ecuador EGY - Egypt ELS - El Salvador ENG - England EIR - Republic of Ireland EST - Estonia FAR - Faroe Islands FIJ - Fiji FIN - Finland FRA - France GAB - Gabon GER - Germany GEO - Georgia GHA - Ghana GRE - Greece GUA - Guatamala GUB - Guinea-Bissau GUI - Guinea GUY - Guyana HKO - Hong Kong HUN - Hungary ICE - Iceland IND - India IRA - Iran IRQ - Iraq ISR - Israel ITA - Italy JAM - Jamaica JAP - Japan KAZ - Kazakhastan LAT - Latvia LEB - Lebanon LIB - Liberia LIE - Liechtenstein LIT - Lithuania LUX - Luxembourg MAC - Macedonia MAL - Malta MAL - Malawi MAR - Marroco MEX - Mexico MOL - Moldova MON - Mongolia MOZ - Mozambique NEL - Netherlands NGR - Niger NIC - Nicaragua NIG - Nigeria NIR - Northern Ireland NKO - People's Republic of North Korea NOR - Norway NZE - New Zealand PAK - Pakistan PAN - Panama PAR - Paraguay PER - Peru PHI - Phillipines POL - Poland POR - Portugal RKO - Republic of South Korea ROM - Romania RSA - South Africa RUS - Russia SAN - San Marino SCO - Scotland SER - Serbia SIN - Singapore SLO - Slovakia SLV - Slovania SPA - Spain SRI - Sri Lanka (Ceylon) SUI - Switzerland SUR - Surinam SWE - Sweden SYR - Syria TAI - Taiwan THA - Thailand TOB - Trinidad and Tobago TRK - Turkmenistan TUN - Tunisia TUR - Turkey UKR - Ukraine URU - Uruguay USA - United States UZB - Uzbekistan VEN - Venezuela VIE - Vietnam WAL - Wales YUG - Yugoslavia ZAI -Zaire ZAM - Zambia ZIM - Zimbabwe