Dec 212017
 
A complete fantasy football program. Allows you to create your own team and compete against the computer or people.
File COUCHDFT.ZIP from The Programmer’s Corner in
Category Games and Entertainment
A complete fantasy football program. Allows you to create your own team and compete against the computer or people.
File Name File Size Zip Size Zip Type
BRUN45.EXE 77440 53681 deflated
COLORS.SDP 17 15 deflated
CONTEST.DOC 2449 1124 deflated
FFD.EXE 8716 4893 deflated
FFD.HLP 1473 697 deflated
FFDDISK.EXE 17998 9068 deflated
FFDDRAFT.EXE 69382 24338 deflated
FFDDRAFT.HLP 1288 587 deflated
FFDEDIT.EXE 38952 14262 deflated
FFDMNU.EXE 34168 13963 deflated
FFDSETUP.EXE 22360 9910 deflated
FOOTBALL.TEM 624 371 deflated
MANUAL.DOC 26870 8678 deflated
MASTER.FFD 34933 8815 deflated
README.DOC 497 256 deflated
SAMPLE.89F 3993 1668 deflated
SAMPLE.CRL 330 239 deflated
SERIALNU.MBR 77 76 deflated

Download File COUCHDFT.ZIP Here

Contents of the README.DOC file



WELCOME TO THE COUCH COACH FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT!

To start the program, type FFD followed by ENTER or RETURN.

Instructions are contained in the file MANUAL.DOC. To print
this user's manual, use COPY MANUAL.DOC PRN:

The rules to our nationwide contest are contained in the file
CONTEST.DOC. To print the contest rules, use COPY CONTEST.DOC PRN:

Happy Drafting!



Contents of the MANUAL.DOC file



WELCOME TO THE COUCH COACH FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT!

To start the program, type FFD followed by ENTER or RETURN.

Instructions are contained in the file MANUAL.DOC. To print
this user's manual, use COPY MANUAL.DOC PRN:

The rules to our nationwide contest are contained in the file
CONTEST.DOC. To print the contest rules, use COPY CONTEST.DOC PRN:

Happy Drafting!
















COUCH COACH FANTASY DRAFT

USER'S MANUAL

Prepared by:

Len Shepard & Allan Schwab
May 1, 1989

Couch Coach Fantasy Draft User's Manual




Table of Contents Page

Introduction..................................... 2
Compatibility.................................. 2
Ways to play Couch Coach Fantasy Draft........... 3
Contents......................................... 3
Installation..................................... 4
Operation of the Software........................ 5
How to enter, make selections, and exit FFD.... 5
How to move around inside the system........... 5
Entering a Setup file............................ 6
Changing Player Data............................. 7
Drafting Fantasy Teams........................... 8
Choice of Leagues.............................. 8
Naming Each Draft.............................. 8
Draft order.................................... 8
The Drafting Screen............................ 8
The Drafting Process........................... 8
Adding Free Agents............................. 9
Review Options................................. 9
Second Thoughts................................ 9
Potato League Sports picks and logic........... 9
HELP! Help screen available while drafting..... 10
Preparing a Diskette for Submission.............. 11
System Utilities................................. 11
List File Directory............................ 11
Examine Contents of a file (preview report).... 11
Change Control File Name....................... 11
Box Outline Color Modification................. 11
Appendix A - corrective action................. 12


IMPORTANT NOTE: Not all instructions contained in this documentation
are applicable to the shareware version of FFD. Some
items relate only to the enhanced version of FFD, which
is available for $22.50 from Potato League Sports. To
order call (800) 537-9228.





INTRODUCTION

Couch Coach Fantasy Draft, or FFD, as we will refer to it in this
manual, is a system of computer programs designed to act as your
drafting opponent (or opponents) in a simulation of an actual
fantasy league draft. A fantasy league is a group of friends who
act like owners, general managers, and coaches of fictitious teams
comprised of real players. Scoring in a fantasy league is done by
the real players in actual contests, while fantasy team scores are
the sum of the scores of the "starting" players on the fantasy
team.

FFD was designed primarily for practice with a free draft (as
opposed to an auction-type draft). If you are about to
participate in a "player auction", FFD is still useful, as it
contains statistics and information about the players, and
gives you an idea as to how we value the players. FFD is
perfect for a fantasy draft where the players are free, as is
common to play-by-mail leagues.

FFD allows you to set up and run your own fantasy draft. This
manual is intended to help you get started, explain the options,
and act as a reference for your use.

Some of the sports terms that we use in this manual are:

drafting pool - group of fictitious teams composed of real players
where real player scores are accumulated to get
fictitious team scores
fantasy team - fictitious team comprised of real players from a
variety of real teams
round - period in which each owner gets a draft choice. The total
number of rounds equals the number of players on each
roster.
owner - owns the fantasy team and is responsible for drafting
starters - those real players whose scores count for the fantasy
team.
Free Agent - A real player NOT contained in the master player
file. FFD free agents are not necessarily real free
agents.

Compatibility.
FFD is compatible with 100% IBM-PC compatibles and compatible
printers and monitors, including monochrome, color, and EGA/VGA.


WAYS TO PLAY COUCH COACH FANTASY DRAFT

FFD gives you the capability of playing several ways:

- CONTEST mode, which is you directly against Potato League
Sports (PLS) and indirectly against others who enter PLS contests.
- You against a friend picking from the same pool. In this
case, FFD acts as master of ceremonies for the draft and
record keeper for later on.
- You against a friend each picking against PLS. In this manner,
FFD picks against each of you and you compare your results
against each other throughout the year. PLS can fill in as
many spots as you want (up to 16 total).
- Your group of up to 16 people. here again, FFD acts as
master of ceremonies and record keeper.
- Your group of up to 16 people, with the computer filling in
as many vacant spots as you desire.

CONTENTS

The Distribution diskette contains:

MASTER .FFD - the master player file for the current season
FFD .EXE - the main banner program
FFD* .EXE - program modules
sportnam.TEM - a file with the names of the current real teams
COLORS .SDP - a file with default colors for screen boxes
FFD* .HLP - help files called by the program modules
SAMPLE .* - sample files for you to review and test
SERIALNU.MBR - serial number of the diskette



INSTALLATION

Backing up your diskettes.
As with most software, the first thing you should do is make a
backup copy of the diskettes (or diskette) that contain the
software. This is always a good practice, as it is time consuming
to get a replacement diskette.

Registering your copy.
The second thing that you should do is fill out the registration
form and send it in. Prior to any communication with us, you will
need to have registered your software. Please answer all the
questions as completely and accurately as possible. If you are
registered, it is easier for special upgrades to be offered to you.

Installing on a floppy disk system (either 3-1/2 or 5-1/4).
After you make your backup copy, place the backup in your disk
drive. Initiate the software by typing "FFD". The system should
respond with the opening banner. If it does not, you will need to
consult the corrective action section (Appendix A).

Installing on a hard disk system:
Even if you are putting the system on a hard disk, it is still a
good idea to make a backup copy (or copies). After making the
backup, copy all the files from the diskette. Put all the files in
the SAME directory or sub-directory. Initiate the software by
typing "FFD". The system should respond with the opening banner.
If it does not, you will need to consult the corrective action
section (Appendix A).

If you are using a floppy diskette (of either size), please make
sure that the diskette is always in the proper drive when running
the software.

It is always YOUR responsibility to make sure you have enough disk
space to run a draft. Each draft may take up about 12K of disk
space, so there is room for at least three drafts on a single 5-
1/4" floppy in addition to all the distributed programs and files.

OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE

How to enter, make selections, and exit FFD.
To enter FFD, type FFD at the system prompt. Your system will
respond with a 'banner' screen that shows the version date and
copyright information. Pressing the space bar will cause the next
screen to appear. This screen shows all existing files at the top
of the screen, a box in the middle, and asks you for a control
file name. Usually, you will enter a filename which is a
unique name of your choosing. We suggest that you use your first
name or nickname. The setup file will identify your demographic
information to the software. If someone else runs a draft on your
system, they should set up their own setup file. If you are just
beginning or browsing, you may press the ENTER key. If you reply
with SAMPLE or the ENTER key, then a review of the current
scoring rules will appear. Otherwise, the main menu will appear.

FFD is made up of program "modules". When you make a selection
from the main menu, usually you are moving to a different module.

Making a selection with FFD.
Use the arrow keys or the first character of your intended
selection to move the pointer and then press the space bar.

Exiting FFD.
To get out of FFD, press the escape key at the main menu.
Pressing the Escape key anywhere will either 'back up' within the
module or exit the current module and return to the main menu.

How to move around once you have entered FFD.
All of the boxes in FFD have similar construction and rules for
moving between and inside them. Once you know how to move around
and make selections within the software, entering statistics and
making changes is a snap. How to move around is described in the
most common help screen (available when you press F1).

ENTERING A SETUP FILE

A setup file contains information which identifies you to the
system. If you enter a Potato League Sports contest, the setup
file will provide PLS with information for contacting you.

You will be presented with a screen showing all the questions to
be answered. If you are working on an existing file, the existing
selections are shown so that you can change them.

If you want to change a selection that you have already made on
this screen, use the up arrow to move upward.

Each of the questions are described in the following discussion:

Name of your fantasy team:
The name of the team will appear on top of all reports. This name
can be up to 20 characters long. Use upper and/or lower case.

Your Name:
This name also appears on top of every report. It can be up to 20
characters long. This name will be the "resident commissioner".

Mailing Address:
You are allowed two lines for your "street address". If you like,
you may add a company name in the address.

City:
You are allowed 25 characters for your city.

State:
You are allowed 2 characters for state or province code.

Country:
Enter the correct country code from the codes listed.

Phone:
Please follow the (xxx) yyy-zzzz format. If you have an
international phone number, simply put that in with dashes.

Comments:
The comments are used by Potato League Sports if you submit
a draft in any of our contests. PLS reads these comments and uses
them as necessary. You might name your favorite real team here.

Completion of the setup.
After these selections are complete, the data file describing
you has been set up and you are ready to proceed.

CHANGING PLAYER DATA

This module allows you to edit data for any of the players
supplied in the master data file. Possible changes are changing
real teams and making players inactive (and re-activating them).
You may select players either by their position or by their real
team. First, select a player by the position or real team.

Change real team.
Type R for real team. The real team selection box is located
beneath the position selection box. Move the pointer to the
correct new team, select the team by pressing the space bar, and
confirm the selection by pressing the ENTER key.

Change active status.
When the player is active, Typing I will inactivate that player.
If a player is inactive, '-NA' will appear in that player's name
(for Not Available). The whole name shows for healthy players,
unless they started as inactive when the master data file was last
read. When the player is inactive, typing A will activate that
player.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In CONTEST mode, the computer may draft players
that you have designated inactive in order to be fair to all.

Changing the identification number of a player:
This feature allows you to update player information from a file
which was downloaded from a statistical service. FFD needs
a specific interface for this to work and may support different
file formats.

Changing the salary of the player:
This feature allows you to track and show salary information. This
may be used in including a draft salary cap in future versions.

Changing positions of a player.
The positions of a player are set by PLS prior to each season and
may NOT be changed.

DRAFTING FANTASY TEAMS

This is the main module of FFD. You have some choices regarding
the setup of the draft. If you elect to take the standard you-vs-
computer (CONTEST mode) option, then you won't have to make
further setup choices. If you don't choose this mode, you must
specify the drafting order, how many owners will participate in
the draft, how many of them will be filled by you (or your
friends), and what the roster requirements for each position are.

Choice of Leagues.
With certain sports, you have the opportunity to select which
league, conference, or division that you want to confine your
selections to. With baseball, you may choose the American League,
National League, or include players from Both Leagues.

Naming Each Draft.
You may draft as often as you like with FFD, and there are
numerous ways to set up a draft, as noted earlier in the section
on "Ways to play FFD". Each time you begin a new draft, you may
call the new draft by a new name. You are allowed up to 8
characters and the result must be a legal DOS filename (consult
your DOS manual). Do NOT use punctuation marks or spaces!

Draft order.
This software supports forward or switchback order for drafting.
Forward order always has the first team draft first in each round.
In the contest mode, Forward order is used. Switchback order,
which is the most common for pools, starts even numbered rounds
with the last team from the prior round and proceeds back to the
first team (123443211234...).

The Drafting Screen.
At each owners turn, the top left hand of the screen shows the
position requirements for that owner, including filled and total to
be filled. The large boxes in the middle are used for the display
of players, either by position or by real team. The lower left box
is reserved for last season's statistics for selected players.

The Drafting Process.
When it is your turn to select a player, you may select a player
by position or by real team (using the F3 key). You may also pick
up a free agent by using the F2 key. If you pick up a free agent,
you will be expected to also select the appropriate position and
real team.

When there are more than 60 players in a position, a message will
be presented at the bottom of the screen stating how to see more
players (using the PgUp and PgDn keys).

After you select a player by team or position, the player's
statistics for last season are presented for your review. You may
then either press Y (or ENTER) to confirm or escape to back up.

Adding free agents.
Pressing the F2 key will add a free agent and ask three things:
1) The players name (last name first - i.e. Smith John); 2) the
position of the player by the familiar selection process; and 3)
the real team of the player by the team selection process.

Once you have added a free agent, you will not have to enter that
person as a free agent in a separate draft. You may add a maximum
of 50 free agents.

Important Notes:
1) Any free agents added will not be presented in alphabetical
order in subsequent drafts (unless their name really falls at
the end of the list!), so remember to search the whole list for
players that you have added before.
2) If you lose the MASTER.FFD file, or copy it from the original
disk, you will have to add free agents as before.

Why aren't all players included in the master player file?
There are several reasons. First, disk space was a consideration.
Second, the more players in the file, the longer it will take to
read them all in (and reading them in takes place each time a new
module is entered). Third, we wanted the information to fit under
a memory capacity of 256K, so that most computers could be
compatible with FFD. Having less players also rewards those
people who seek out and find the best "free agents" available.

Review Options.
Pressing F4 or F5 will cause the system to review any prior picks.
F4 will review the picks by round, while F5 will review by position.

Second Thoughts.
When FFD asks you to confirm your pick, you may "back up" by
using the ESCape key. You may not, however, go back and change
data that has already been recorded in a draft (just as you could
not in a live draft). Your only recourse is to start over!

Potato League Sports picks and logic.
Although a fairly sophisticated picking strategy has been used to
pick players for the upcoming season, you may feel that some of
the picks are odd, or questionable at best. To some extent, this
reflects experience with many actual drafts - everyone has their
own surprise picks, including Potato League Sports! You may be
surprised at how well our "surprise" picks do - so might we
(embarrassingly so). You might also keep in mind that, for
distribution purposes, the selections are made at least two months
prior to the season, when opening day rosters are unknown.



HELP! Here is the help screen presented when you press F1 during
the drafting module:

COUCH COACH FANTASY DRAFT - HELP

To move within boxes that contain selection arrows, use the following keys:
KEY FUNCTION
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
arrows moves the selection arrow in the desired direction. Will move within
the specified bounds of the box or across single line boxes.
Esc gets you out of the box immediately (escape!).
space bar selects or de-selects the choice being pointed at. The choice will
be highlighted if selected, or lowlighted if de-selected.
A-Z,0-9 Entering the first character of your choice moves directly to the
next choice that starts with the character you entered.
PgUp/PgDn Displays more players in the category - PgUp shows prior
(alphabetic) players while PgDn shows later players.

Function Keys ( F1 calls this screen )
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
F2 Pick up a free agent F7 Show/Omit Real Team in Display
F3 Show remaining players by real team F8 Show/Omit Stat Totals in Display
F4 Review prior selections by round F9 Turn Drafter's Aid On/Off
F5 Review prior selections by position (F9 not active in CONTEST mode)
F6 Review Scoring Rules F10 Turn Browse Stats Mode On/Off



Here is the normal help screen presented when you are NOT in the
drafting module.

COUCH COACH FANTASY DRAFT - HELP

When asked for information, with a (Y/N), the first choice (Y, in this case)
is the "default" response. The default is taken if any key is pressed but the
non-default (N, in this case) repsonse or the ESCape key.

To move within boxes that contain selection arrows, use the following keys:
KEY FUNCTION
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
arrows moves the selection arrow in the desired direction. Will move within
the specified bounds of the box or across single line boxes.
Esc backs up to the last prompt or out of the current module (escape!).
space selects the choice that the selection arrow is pointing at. The
choice will be highlighted if selected.
A-Z,0-9 Entering the first character of your choice moves directly to the
next choice that starts with the character you entered.
PgUp/PgDn Displays more players in the category - PgUp shows prior
(alphabetic) players while PgDn shows later players.

If function keys are useful, they are shown on the bottom line of your screen.

PREPARING A DISKETTE FOR SUBMISSION

After you have completed a "CONTEST mode" draft, you are invited
to submit your picks to PLS to compete against all others
submitting picks. Details of each contest are separate from this
manual.

You will be asked to provide the name for the draft that you want
to submit and the disk drive containing your "submission
diskette". (You may use any formatted diskette to submit a contest
entry.) Provided that there are no media errors and all the files
exist, then this operation is very simple and short. FFD will
copy the files containing your serial number, your setup file
containing your address and contact information, your adjusted (for
any free agents you added) player pool, and the particular draft
that you named. It is important that you do not "fool" with any of
these files outside of FFD. To retain control over the fairness
of the contest, certain drafting sequences and codes are used and
will be contained in these files. PLS reserves the right to
reject any entries.

Instructions for submitting the disk are in the software, and
basically consist of mailing the diskette along with a printout
of the draft and an update service fee to PLS.

UTILITIES

Utilities are provided to assist with some activities that you
might want to perform.

The following utilities are offered for assistance in setting up
and operating your pool:

List File Directory
Examine Contents of a File
Change Setup File Name
Box Outline Color Modification

List File Directory allows you to examine the files in your
current directory, sub-directory, or diskette. You will be asked
whether you want to look at all files or pick a specific subset of
files. Use the normal DOS wildcards (consult your operating system
manual for these) to specify which subset of files to search for.

Examine Contents of a file allows you to look at any individual
file on the screen. The screen will pause after each 22 lines
printed, and you can also stop it from scrolling by pressing the
space bar. If you press the Escape key, the utilities menu will
return. We recommend that you examine files prior to printing them
whenever possible.

The option to change the setup file name allows another person
to run a draft without having to restart FFD.

Box Outline Color Modification.
This option allows you to change the colors of the outlines of the
boxes that appear on the screens. Choose the colors by number and
press Escape when you are finished. As you can probably guess,
this isn't too useful unless you have a color monitor.



APPENDIX A - errors and corrective action

Here it is! The section that is supposed to tell you what went
wrong and how to correct it. Well, let's hope this helps.

There are three types of errors that we know about.

1) Errors caught by FFD and reported, such as "out of disk
space" and "drive unavailable" and "file doesn't exist".

2) Errors caught by our friendly compiler, but not by FFD.
These result in "Error number XX at line YYYY". Although
FFD is extensively tested, and no instance of this was
reported, PLS can't guarantee this won't occur. If it
happens, please note the message and feel free to call us
(if it isn't obvious what the remedy to the problem is).

3) Errors not caught by the compiler or FFD. Two types here:
a) Calculations made by FFD. if you think FFD has
calculated something wrong, please check your work
and then, if still convinced, let PLS know!
b) System hangs / disk media errors / other unknown

In the event of any "hangs" or "stoppages", check your printer
to make sure it is on and on-line. In the event of disk media
errors, make another copy of the original diskette and try
using it.

Whatever the reason for consulting this section, if you can't find
the remedy, do NOT get frustrated - call for help. You paid good
money for this software and it should work!




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