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HARDBALL!
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BATTER UP
Welcome to the most realistic baseball game ever designed. Step up
to the plate and try to knock that ball out of the park. You can
choose to bunt, steal a base, and control base running.
When your team is in the field, you can control the type and
location of pitch as well as the fielders.

TO RESTART GAME:
To restart the game, press the control key in combination with the
"R" key.

CONTROLS
Once the game is loaded, a prompt will appear asking what is
plugged into port 0. Answer, keeping in mind the following:

For a two player game, two joysticks must be used. If a mouse is
used, only one player games are possible. One player games may
also be played with a joystick plugged into port 1.

SELECT GAME OPTIONS
Once the game is loaded and the first prompt has been answered, a
"Game Options" menu will appear. This will allow you to choose
which team will be the "Home" team, (and of course the other team
will be the "Visitors")
whether or not to play with a designated hitter(someone who bats
in the place of the pitcher(This is now a Hulk Hogan comment: It
seems that anyone who need an explanation of a designated hitter
doesn't need this game!!)), and which(if any) of the two teams
will be played by the computer. Use the mouse/joystick to
highlight your selection. Press the button to proceed.

ALL-STARS(RED)                 CHAMPS(BLUE)
Home                           Visitor
Visitor                        Home
Home                           Visitor(DH)
Visitor                        Home(DH)

If you have a mouse connected to port 0, you will then highlight
and select one of the following choices in the same manner as
above:

ALL-STARS                      CHAMPS
Joystick 1                     Computer
Computer                       Joystick 1
Mouse                          Computer
Computer                       Mouse
Computer                       Computer

Note: You will only be able to play the computer with the mouse
plugged in port 0.
If you have a Joystick plugged into port 0(for two player games),
you will have the following options:

ALL-STARS                      CHAMPS
Joystick 0                     Joystick 1
Joystick 1                     Computer
Computer                       Joystick 1
Computer                       Computer

Make your selection and press button to proceed.

HOW TO SELECT THE PITCH TYPE:
When the pitcher screen is first displayed, you will see(on the
bottom left) the four pitch types this pitcher can throw. When
using a joystick, simply move the stick in the direction of the
arrow that is next to the desired pitch and press the fire button.

When using a mouse, move the mouse up or down until your desired
pitch type is highlighted, then press the mouse button. Your pitch
type has now been selected.

HOW TO THROW THE PITCH:
 After you have made your pitch type selection and the batter has
selected what he wants to do:
If using a joystick, move it in the position you wish to throw the
ball and press the fire button. For example, moving the joystick
left will cause the ball to be thrown left, and so on.

If using a mouse you will see a "tic-tac-toe" grid. By moving the
mouse, you can move the white box around the grid. If the box is
in the middle, the pitch will go to the middle, if it is on the
left, the pitch will go to the left, etc.
Press the mouse button when you get to the box corresponding to
where you throw the pitch. Your pitch type has now been selected.
The pitch will be thrown when you release the mouse button.

FIELDING THE BALL:
After the ball has been hit, either the left side or the right
side of the field will be shown(the side with the ball in it). The
fielder who is closest to the ball will be flashing, and will run
in the direction selected by moving the mouse/joystick.

THROWING TO A BASE:
Once the fielder has got the ball, if using a mouse, a grid comes
up in the lower left-hand corner of the screen with the
numbers(and letter) "1 2 3 H". Move the mouse in the direction of
the base you want to throw to and press the button. For a
joystick, move the joystick int the direction indicated by the
arrow and press the fire button.

MANAGER'S DECISION SCREEN
The four screens displayed during Hardball are: The Manager's
Decision Screen, the Pitcher/Batter Screen, Left Field View, and
Right Field View.
The game begins with the Manager's Decision Screen. It will also
appear if a player presses the space bar on the keyboard at any
time during the pitcher screen. In the Manager's Screen, pressing
the space bar will "Play Ball"(starting the game action or
continuing where you left off). This screen will display a
selected line-up for both teams. A check mark will indicate who is
at bat and there will also be an indication of who is on which
base(1b,2b, or 3b), how they bat(Right, Left, or Switch), the
position they play and their batting average.

Below each team's roster will be a menu of management decision
options which each player may select by highlighting the option
and pressing the mouse/joystick button. In the case of
"substitution" or "exchange positions" additional screen prompts
will be displayed at the bottom.

For the other options, highlight your selection and press the
mouse/joystick button. The options are as follows:

For the team in the field (defense) * 5 choices:
*Player substitution
*Exchange positions
*Outfield (Normal, shift right, or shift left)__
*Infield (Normal or double play)                | Parameter Options
*(No) intentional walk                        --

For the team at bat(offense)* 3 choices
*Player substitution
*Exchange Positions
*Switch Hit(if appropriate)
If either player selects "substitution" or "exchange positions",
the lower portion of the Manager's decision screen will change to
the appropriate team. In these modes, press the space bar in the
middle of an activity to cancel and return to the game.

SUBSTITUTION
A line will be displayed to select "substitute" (from bench) with
(on roster) at which time the highlighted entry can be selected by
moving the joystick/mouse up/down(selecting a player)and pressing
the fire button/right mouse button. When the bench entry is
specified, you can scroll the list of players on the bench up or
down within a 3-line window at the bottom of the screen. Then
select the desired player to come onto the field by pressing the
fire/right mouse button. When the roster entry is selected, the
curser can be moved up or down the roster list, then press the
fire/right mouse button to select the player to come off the
field. Note: Once a player is substituted out(after the first
pitch), he can't return to the field and doesn't go to the bench
list. The new player coming onto the field will replace him at his
current position.

EXCHANGE POSITIONS:
Choose the entry to be filled first in a manner similar to that
defined above for "substitution" on the line;
"exchange _____________position with______________position".
This will allow vertical scrolling of curser through the roster positions
and will show each players full performance statistics at the bottom of
the screen.  Press fire button/right mouse button to select positions
to be exchanged. If you select a player in a position for which he
is not suited, then an appropriate message(I.E., "player out of
position") will be displayed later. There will be a likelihood of
an error in play or poor pitching.
Remember, press space bar to start(or continue)play of the game.

GAME PLAY
Play begins with the pitcher's screen depicting the pitcher,
batter, and umpire. At the bottom of the screen there will be two
sets of commands. The commands on the left are for the team
pitching, (fielding team) and the commands in the middle of the
screen are for the team at bat. The right side is reserved for
displaying the score, strikes, balls, and other information.
The pitcher must select one of the four types of pitches
displayed. Each pitcher has only four types of pitches he can
throw. There are eight types of pitches altogether:

*Fastball! (straight and very fast)
*Fastball (straight and fast)
*Offspeed (straight)
*Change-up (straight slower pitch)
*Curve ball (a big sweeping curve)
for lefthanded pitchers, the ball curves to the right
for righthanded pitchers, the ball curves to the left
*Screwball (opposite of curve ball)
*Sinker (breaks downward)
*Slider (fast breaking curve)
The batter must also decide what he wants to do, His options are
bunting and stealing bases(any base can be stolen if there is a
player in the position to do so). If the batter wants to swing
normally, just press fire button/mouse button. If using a joystick
and you wish to select steal or bunt, hold the fire button down
while moving the joystick in the direction of the arrow next to
the desired option. Do not release the button until you have
selected all your options. If using a mouse, highlight each option
and press button. Once both players have made their selections, a
new set of choices are presented at the bottom of the screen. THe
pitcher will be able to select the location of the
pitch(I.E.,high, inside, etc..)according to the indicated mouse
positions or joystick direction. The batter will be able to swing
in the desired location according to his mouse or joystick
selection.

NINE PITCHING ZONES OVER HOME PLATE:
     2    1    2         x=always a strike
     1    x    1         1=high probability of being a strike
     2    1    2         2=low probability of being a strike

When the ball is hit, the receiving fielder will be identified by
blinking. The player may use the mouse/joystick to move the
fielder so he can catch(or pick up) the ball. Once he has the
ball, he can throw to any of 4 bases(1st, 2nd, 3rd, or home).
The team at bat can decide which bases to run to according to the
mouse positions or joystick direction in his command window. You
may not run to a base if there is already someone on it. You
cannot change your mind once you start running.
Miscellaneous Notes

*As a pitcher gets tired, the probability of throwing a strike
goes down.
*Certain pitchers will be stronger in some pitching types.
*If pitch is not in the strike zone, the batter can swing but
can't hit the ball.
*When the ball is hit, the fielding screen is displayed and
(unless it's a foul ball)when the play is completed, the manager's
decision screen will be displayed momentarily before returning to
the pitching/batting screen.
*When bunting with 2 strikes against you, if the ball goes foul,
it is considered your 3rd strike.
*Runners have the option of running to the next base upon reaching
a base after a hit.
*If you tell a runner to steal a base and the batter doesn't hit
the ball, then the catcher will attempt to throw the lead runner
out.
*When someone first steps up to bat, some of his statistics will
be displayed.
*You may change the flag on the manager's decision screen by
pressing alt-A for American flag(default) or alt-C for Canadian
flag.

SCOUTING TIPS FROM BOB WHITEHEAD
Say hey! Well, I don't know about you but I'll never get a chance
to play and manage a big league baseball team, probably the same
goes for you. Real baseball that is, like you see at the ballpark
or on network T.V. So I used HardBall to fulfill some of my
fantasies and I hope you enjoy doing the same. And, like any good
manager, you need to develop a good scouting report.