Play-by-Play Primer
Part 1 - Introduction
Scott Nichols

As the SOM play-by-play coordinator, I thought it would be a good idea to begin a series of articles to acquaint fellow strat aficionados with this module within the CDROMBB baseball game. Frankly, I do not believe that most gamers understand even the basic tenants of this component of the greatest baseball game ever invented.

Before going further, let me be clear about certain points. I do not 'work' for the Strat-O-Matic game Company other than on a volunteer basis. Also, over the last six years I have had several co-writers that should be mentioned because without them, the pbp would certainly not be as varied and full as it now has become. Ren Petrie has been with me since the early going. He is a stalwart writer. tireless and prolific... and even more importantly, a great guy! Strat-O-Matic legend, Stan Watson, got me started in this project by 'dropping my name' to Bob Winberry when Bob was looking for someone to 'chair' this project. Stan and Jack Wood wrote some of the first year pbp as well. Two other major past contributors have been Mike Burdulis and Mitch West. They are exceptionally good writers. and hopefully will contribute again in the future. although they have done more than their share already, no doubt about it!

Lastly, I don't make decisions about what goes into the game. although, as is true for us all, I can and do make suggestions. ceaselessly I might add. <g> My object over the succeeding months will be to 'teach' those interested the basics about properly 'using' the play-by-play. and, for those more involved/interested, I will at times go into the intricacies of writing play-by-play. point by point.

As a little bit of a history lesson, expanded play-by-play (hereafter - pbp) was introduced into Strat-O-Matic baseball in the winter of 1995 (version 5 of the DOS game). Programmer Bob Winberry decided that he wanted to upgrade the play descriptions (which still exist as the 'default' pbp calls) but also offer the unique concept of allowing the interested gamer the opportunity to introduce his own pbp into the game. not in just a limited fashion, but completely if a gamer so desired!

During that winter, a little more than 2000 pbp calls were added in a file named USERPBP.FIL (located in the /data sub-directory). Anyone could add to or modify this file and tailor the games pbp calls to fit their desires. During that summer, several people attempted to create files of their own. a few created files that featured their favorite team(s). This was a nice idea. but a little cumbersome to implement (i.e. their team pbp concept). Therefore, Bob added the team files the following year. now every team had their own file that personalized the pbp to each city, stadium and team! This disc also served an incredibly important purpose - it added the names for that team's manager, coaches, announcers, doctor, owner, gm, etc. In next month's article, I will explain why this is so very important to enjoying the pbp feature.

I now think it is time to mention what the goal of the play-by-play module is. that is, what are we trying to accomplish? Let me list some of these goals below:

1. To write tens of thousands of varied pbp accounts for the enjoyment of the SOM gamer.

2. To allow for those with the interest the opportunity to add/modify the pbp to their individual taste.

3. To allow for varying levels of pbp for the different interests of strat gamers.

4. To pursue the ultimate goal of allowing for ANY pbp call that a person hears in an actual radio or television broadcast to appear in a SOM game at the appropriate time and place (circumstance).

5. To educate those interested in the best ways to enjoy the pbp module.

6. To add to and improve the pbp module yearly.

7. To return some of the 'excitement' in the actual game play that may have been diminished for some with the introduction of the computer game. that is, the unequaled pleasure of the communication involved in the squaring off against another person in the board game.

8. To allow for a person to sit back and 'watch/listen' to a radio style broadcast of a game at any time . and to save the actual broadcast for later use. maybe for sending off the pbp account of an All-Star game or World Series to other draft league members

So, how to accomplish these goals? This will be the subject of the remainder of this article.

It is important to understand at least the outline of the USERPBP.FIL. that is, how is it set up. For those interested, you may want to open up the USERPBP.FIL from the CDROMBB\DATA directory as you read along. For those with even more interest, there is a complete set of instructions in this same directory named PBP.TXT. After reading this, you will ready to write your own SOM play-by-play (although a few tips that will be coming in future articles will be of much value). But let me get back to the basics now. a typical pbp line that might be found in the USERPBP.FIL will be referenced:

ID B123 PC123SLCR PCT 09 3044 000000011 012 @2 swings and slices one to deep right-center@N@&9 is off with the crack of the bat.@N@&8 joins the chase.@NI don't think they are going to catch up with this one@NIt's a gapper!@NIt's off the @W.@NNow it's stuck in the muck out there on the warning track@N@7 slips on the wet grass!@NFinally @6 runs it down.@NHe fires it on a line to third@N@2 slides.@N@&5 applies the tag.@NSAFE!@/@NMan that @2 can really motor!@NThe runners score!@NThat gives @1 @&T triples and @:RR>120 ribbies here in @:YR!@NWhat a year for the @O @:H5@:AO@:AI@:AC@:AG

symbols: (a two to four character code - always beginning with an "@" sign- that will be replaced by a number or a word when the pbp account appears on the screen. this can be further enhanced by using the signs <,>, and = so as to specify when the pbp account may be used. in the above example this pbp account would not be used for any batter that had less than 120 ribbies)

@2 - batter's last name @&9 - rightfielder's name @&8 - centerfielder's name @W - the fence or wall or ivy @&5 - the thirdbaseman's name @/ - cheer sound @&T - number of seasonal triples @:RR - total RBIs in season (in this example, the '@:RR>120' means that this account will not be used unless the batter has over 120 RBIs so far in the season) @:YR - the year @N - pause and go onto next line on screen @O - the offensive's team city name @:H5 - the position the batter plays @6 - fielder's first name @7 - fielder's last name

modifiers: (a 2-4 character code (beginning with the "@" sign) that defines the circumstances necessary for a given pbp account to appear) - in our example above, the following have to be true. @:AO - right handed batter @:AG - grass field @:AC - lousy weather @:AI - fast batter

Now let me say right away that I won't be going into the details on everything you see in that pbp account. today. I will in future months but that is not my purpose in this introductory article. But I do want to point our certain things.

First, the ID references the topic that this portion of the file will address. in this case it is '09' - pbp calls for triples. It could have been '89' - pbp calls for the beginning of a game. or '83' - what is said after the third out in an inning. or maybe '92 ' - the game/seasonal stats of a batter as he steps to the plate

There are approximately 65 categories - enough to give a rich pbp description ffor each play. Again, I will describe in detail how this is all 'put together' in subsequent articles. For now, I just want to review the overall concepts.

Next, note the B123 (baserunner advancement). This tells the computer when to consider this pbp account for user. What it says is that IF the batter ends up on 3rd base (via a triple as this is in category 09 - pbp calls for triples) and there were rrunners on 2nd and 3rd that scored on the play, this pbp call should go into the mix as a potential for use.

Going to the right, you will note PC123SLCR. these represent the nine positions on the field. If a '0' is under the column, the fielder in this column will not be involved in the play. if a '1' is under the column, the pbp call may be used for a ball fielded by that position. In the 'triple' call above, the center and right fielder are turned 'on' (that is there is a '1' under their column). Therefore, this triple pbp call will relate to either the rightfielder or centerfielder making the play (they played the ball off the wall). Without getting too bogged down in this introductory article, the @7 in the actual call is the symbol for the last name of the CF or RF (so when it says @7 runs it down... this would appear in the actual pbp on the screen as Maris runs it down. or Mantle runs it down). (note: you will note that I often use the Yankee players of the late 50's and early 60's as my examples. my 'glory era' <bg>)

The last point I want to mention here is the 'PCT' - note this is set at 012% in the above example. This is a very complicated aspect of the pbp. one better left for a future time. suffice it to say for now, however, that the higher the percentage, the greater the chance of the computer picking it for use.

Enough of this stuff. for now. I don't want to lose anyone at this juncture. But this is a little taste of how Bob Winberry has created the pbp module so that the SOM gamer, armed with knowledge (from the pbp.txt file) and desire, can write great individualized pbp [the key, of course, are the symbols (approx. 250) and modifiers (approx. 300).

By allowing the individual to select varying degrees of pbp, Bob has allowed a nice range to meet each person's taste. One might choose 'detailed' pbp for you big games (All Star, World Series, big series, etc.) and may want to shorten your game times with 'normal' or even 'minimal' pbp with a simple click from the options/game preferences menu. For any of these choices, you may include the 'pre-swing' pbp accounts, which keep the gamer abreast of the batter's and pitcher's in-game and seasonal stats (and much more).

With the use of the almost 600 symbols and modifiers and the team files (a unique SOM feature) plus this year's great addition of modifiers that will allow pbp accounts to be written for specific players (another one of many SOM unique features, I believe), virtually ANY pbp account can be written and used in the appropriate setting. I almost NEVER hear a radio of television pbp call that I cannot duplicate in the game. and have it used at the proper time. Basically, this is because we listened to hundreds of games (old-time and modern day) when developing the symbols and modifiers. if we heard a nice pbp call, and we did not have the appropriate modifier or symbol to write it, I asked Bob to create it! This he did ALWAYS - hence the comprehensive list noted in the pbp.txt file.

Every year we have added to the pbp module in some way. we always update the team files, add pbp accounts to the USERPBP.FIL (this year, many Dizzy Deanisms were added and 100's of newsworthy events were added for the enjoyment of those who play old-time seasons - ex. Lindberg's flight in 1927 and the mentioning of the moon landing in July 1969), often add new concepts (ex. the post-game summary last year) or new modifiers/symbols (this year the @:XB and @:XP - allowing for totally individualizing of the pbp accounts. you will here the 'Big Unit' bringing his 99 mph fastball to the plate. the 'Rocket' and 'El Duque' trying to help the Yanks win another title, 'ARod' showing why many consider him to be the best player in baseball, etc.) In the next few articles, I plan to show everyone the easiest way to write/enjoy some great stuff for your favorite teams/players.

One interesting feature added a few years back is the ability to just sit back and 'listen/watch' a game. and save it to file or print it out for your season's notebook. This can be a lot of fun. You will find these two options on the game screen (one is found under game - click on 'quick spectator'. the other is under options/game preferences - click on 'save pbp to file'). Put your feet up and sit back and enjoy the ballgame!

Before closing out this introductory article, I thought I would play a game with ball flight and with the pbp level at its maximum. pre-play with full detail and newsworthy events plus trivia question turned on. At the pre-set speed level ("5" for ball flight and pbp speed), I played a 10 inning 6-5 game in 14 minutes. In other words, recognizing that most SOM players are good readers, you can expect most of your games with full detailed pbp selected to be played in about 15 minutes of time. even while reading the scrolling pbp account on your screen. not too much time for most, I would think. Remember, you can adjust the time for ball flight, pbp speed and pbp lines that are shown, etc. from the game preferences and ballpark screens.

In next month's article, I will give many tips on how to make sure that you are maximizing your enjoyment of the play-by-play module. there are some things that are not intuitively obvious. and I will review these in some detail. As you can see, Bob Winberry has gone to considerable lengths to create a detailed USERPBP system. the key word here is USER. it is fun and very detailed for the 'USER' to enjoy while playing their games. and available for those adventurous 'USER' souls who want to add their mark to the pbp themselves!