PICKS94 Copyright 1994 by Kevin Angley Pool Organizer for the 1994 NCAA Tournament Version 94-01 February 28, 1994 PICKS94 automates the task of running a pool for the 1994 basketball tournament. Now, before we go any farther, let me make it clear that this program is not to be used in conjunction with any gambling or wagering activity. This program is for matching wits against your friends to determine who is the best predictor of sports outcomes. Have a good time with it. PICKS94 makes a pool so easy to do. Entering picks and results is as painless as it can be! You can either enter everyone's picks yourself, or allow each player to create their own .PIX file containing their picks, which you can subsequently read into the master database. At any time you can get a report (either to the screen, to a file, or to a printer) of everyone's picks, the standings, and/or a review of the game results so far. QUICK START: Simply type PICKS94 to get started. A menu will appear in glorious NC State Wolfpack Red and White: PICKS94 for DOS - version 94-xxx Copyright 1994 by Kevin Angley Choose an option or hit escape key to exit: S) Setup the field of teams This will be the only available option the first time into PICKS94. After you have set up the field of teams, the menu gets more interesting: PICKS94 for DOS - version 94-xxx Copyright 1994 by Kevin Angley Choose an option or hit escape key to exit: POOL MANAGEMENT: REPORTS: W) Modify weights G) Report Game Results I) Add a player interactively P) Report Pool Results F) Add players from PIX files A) Report All Picks in current directory R) Enter the results for round x PLAYER OPTIONS: C) Create a .PIX file of your picks ************************************************************************** POOL MANAGEMENT Options ************************************************************************** S) Set up the field of teams This is the only option that will appear the first time you run PICKS94. It is here that you will enter the field of 64 teams for the 1994 tournament. This will create the file FIELD.DAT in the current directory. You should create the FIELD.DAT file and distribute this with the copy of PICKS94.EXE to players who desire to enter their own picks (see player option C). After each region of teams, you will be asked to verify that the teams are correct, so that you can correct it before moving on. The order in which you enter the teams is critical. Follow the order as listed in the pairings chart. After entering the first region, make sure that the second region you enter plays the first region in the semi-finals. Other than observing that, you can enter regions in any order. If you discover that you have entered the field incorrectly before adding the the first player or entered the results for round 1, then you can just delete FIELD.DAT and set up the field again. However, once you have either added a player or entered results, do not modify FIELD.DAT. If you need to correct an error, you are up the creek and will have to delete FIELD.DAT, PICKS94.DAT, and ROUND*.DAT and start all over. W) Modify weights By default, PICKS94 gives more credit for correct guesses in the later rounds. One point is awarded for each first round guess, two points for each second round guess, and so forth. If you prefer an alternate strategy, select this option and assign weights to each round. You can modify the weights at any time, and go back and forth between several scenarios even after the final round results are in. Of course, you should establish the official weights before your pool begins. I) Add a player interactively You can add players at any time, and you need not add them all in one sitting. For each player, PICKS94 will go through the 63 games asking you which that player has selected. A single keystroke is all it takes. After each round, you can verify that you have entered the data correctly. After all the rounds, you are asked if you want to go ahead and enter this player's data into the picks database. Note: Some deviants in pools select a winner in a subsequent round that they have eliminated in a previous round. No fair! PICKS94 will not let you do this, so be sure to establish this as a ground rule. F) Add players from PIX files in current directory This option processes all the PIX files that individual players have submitted. Put all the PIX files in the same directory with the PICKS94 program and database, then select this option. PIX files must be produced by PICKS94 option C. If there is something wrong with the file, you will be alerted and that player's picks will be skipped. This option searches for all PIX files in the current directory, processes them, and then deletes each one as it goes to make sure you don't accidentally add the same player to the database twice. You can add a player with this option at any time. R) Enter the results for round x This option appears until you have entered the results for all the rounds. You enter the results of each round as they are complete. For each game, you are given a choice to which you can response with a single keystroke. ************************************************************************** PLAYER Options ************************************************************************** C) Create a .PIX file of your picks This option allows an individual player to create a file of his personal picks which he or she can then deliver to you via floppy, etc. You need the PICKS94.EXE file and FIELD.DAT file in your directory to create your personal picks file. PICKS94 will go through the 63 games asking for your choice. A single keystroke is all it takes. After each round, you can verify that you have entered the data correctly. Follow the onscreen instructions. After exiting PICSK94, take your PIX file to the pool administrator. ************************************************************************** REPORTS ************************************************************************** G) Report Game Results P) Report Pool Results A) Report All Picks The report options can be run at any time once you start accumulating some data. You should publish pick sheets before the first game, so participants can check that their data are entered correctly. Publish standings along the way to make it more exciting. The report option that reports the game result has a cute feature. Instead of saying boring things like "NC State defeated UNC", etc., it uses all those sportscaster terms that mean the same thing, chosen at random. Feel free to add your own in file SYNONYMS.DAT - up to 256 phrases up to 24 characters in length. ************************************************************************** Have fun! Now for the really good part ... PICKS94 is shareware published by an author who believes we should get back to the roots of what shareware was intended to be - that is, a way of getting good programs distributed among peers in the PC world without the high costs and roadblocks of marketing, etc. In this author's opinion, shareware (well, all software for that matter) has gotten way too expensive. For that reason, registration of PICKS94 is a lousy $5. Yep, five bucks is all it takes for you to say smugly, "Yeah, I register my shareware". So, go ahead ... print out REGISTER.TXT and send it in with $5. Make a statement for shareware. Thanks for using and registering PICKS94!