INTERNATIONAL MATCH DAY "Welcome to International Match Day', the soccer arcade game, it is no ordinary soccer game but a 3-D action arcade style game where you control the action. The game is seen from a 'camera eye' view. The camera automatically scans the pitch. Each team has its own colour strip (in the normal game this is while shirt, white shorts and yellow socks for team 1 and yellow shirts, yellow shorts and white socks for team 2) and is made up of a goalkeeper, defenders, midheld players and attackers. During the game, each player moves into position according to the standard football rules (ie. according to which side has possession, where the ball is, what position he plays in etc.) You have control of the player in possession of the ball or that player who is best placed to tackle or intercept the ball. This player is indicated on-screen by his socks turning the colour of the rest of his strip. With this player you can dribble, tackle, pass, head, block trap, take corners and throw-ins and perform virtually all of the skills of real football. LOADING Position the cassette in your tape recorder with the printed side upwards and make sure that it is rewound to the beginning. Ensure that the connection lead goes from the EAR socket on the recorder to the EAR socket on the Spectrum and that the MIC socket is disconnected. Select Tape Loader from the main menu on the Spectrum 128 (for further instructions consult the section on loading in your manual). Now press PLAY on the recorder. The screen message should appear and the game will load automatically. At the end of the loading process follow the screen instructions. 1 DRIBBLING Whilst your player is in possession of the ball, dribbling is automatic. The ball is always a short distance in front of your player in whichever of the eight possible directions you move him. It is important to note that a player will not be able to run as fast with the ball as without due to the need to control the ball. Hence it is important to learn how to pass quickly and accurately. 2 PASSING To pass the ball use the kick control key (or the FIRE button if you are using a joystick). The ball will go in the direction you are facing. There are two types of pass: along the ground and through the air. To pass along the ground you must be stationary when you kick, if you are moving the ball will fly up and bounce along the ground. This pass will be the longer of the two types. 3 RECEIVING This encompasses blocking, trapping or deflecting the ball, heading the ball etc. To successfully gain possession of the ball, you must judge its path and time your interception, so that the ball arrives at your feet. This is most important if you wish to trap a bouncing ball. It is important to keep your eye on the shadow which is always directly beneath the ball. Notice how the shadow shrinks as the ball rises and grows as it falls. To accurately trap a bouncing ball you must place your feet on the spot where you estimate the ball and shadow will meet (ie. where the ball hits the ground). If you intercept a bouncing ball too early it will be deflected off your legs, body or head. How the ball then bounces depends on the relative speed and direction of ball and player on contact. Such deflection can, of course, be used to great advantage. In particular heading the ball on can gain much ground quickly. 4 GOALKEEPER You will automatically gain control over yout goalkeeper at the appropriate time - this is indicated by him crouching. You then have the option of making a diving save to the left or right by using the appropriate direction control with 'kick/fire'. 5 SET PIECES These include corner kicks, centres and goal kicks. It is possible to control set pieces very accurately by proper use of the controls. In addition to being able to kick or throw the ball in different directions you have three levels of strength: soft, normal and hard. To vary the strength of kick from soft to hard the general rule is: Press keys/joystick to move your player forwards gives a hard kick/long throw etc. Press keys/joystick to move your player backwards gives a soft kick/short throw etc. The direction of the kick/throw/header can be changed by using the controls that would normally move the player in that direction as you press the kick/FIRE button. To fully appreciate the very high degree of control you have over the ball requires much practice. Practice combined with accurate timing produces the most skillful players. THROW-IN When the ball leaves the field and crosses either touch line, a member of the appropriate team automatically crosses over to take the til throw. You now control this player who will take the throw when you press the kick (or fire) button. You can throw towards one of nine possible positions. CORNER-KICK Corner kicks operate in a similar way to throw-ins, the ball travelling towards one of nine positions Note that with three 'soft' kicks the ball runs along the ground. GOAL-KICK Goal kicks operate in a similar way to corner kicks with the three 'soft' forms running along the ground. KICK-OFF As in the rules of association football, at a centre the ball must travel forwards across the line. A 'soft' centre to the left or right will therefore move slightly forward of the centre line. OPTIONS When the program has successfuly loaded you will be presented with the MAIN MENU which reads as follows: PLAY INTERNATIONAL MATCH DAY (1 Player Game) CHANGE MATCH DETAILS PLAY INTERNATIONAL MATCH DAY (2 Player Game) CHANGE TEAM NAMES PLAY INTERNATIONAL MATCH DAY SPECIAL Notice that the first line is highlighted in white and has a SYMBOL SHIFT key along side. By referring to the on-screen instruction 'Press ENTER to select' if you now press ENTER you will start the normal one player versus the computer game. Match Day ofters three game play options: Play International Match Day (1 player game) Play International Match Day (2 player game) Play International Match Day Special In International Match Day Special you can compete with your friends and with or without the computer in a three stage International Cup Competition. Before starting a match you will probably need to set up the various game options. Amongst other things, these options allow you to change the length of each match, alter the team colours, change the control keys, select a joystick and set up the game so you and your friends can compete in the International Cup Competition. These options are altered by using the following 'Menus'. CHANGE MATCH DETAILS CHANGE TEAM NAMES CHANGE TEAM COLOURS CHANGE GAME CONTROLS SET HANDICAP On each menu the options can be altered by using the following keys. SS SYMBOL SHIFT move'down' ENT ENTER for use see on-screen CS CAPS SHIFT exit from menu SP SPACE move'up' instructions These four keys are used throughout and with a little practice enable the game options to be changed quickly and easily. CHANGE MATCH DETAILS To access this menu press SYMBOL SHIFT until this choice is highlighted. Notice that the SS marker on the screen moves to indicate your current choice. When you have highlighted 'Change Match Details' press ENTER to go to the menu. You will see four options: Length of Each Half Number of Players (Cup only) Difficulty Level Computer Opponent (Cup only) Length of Each Half: In a standard football match play lasts for 45 minutes each way. In International Match Day you can vary the actual time for each half to 5, 15 or 45 minutes. Note that during the match the on-screen clock will always run from 0-45 and 45-90 minutes. If there is a draw after 90 minutes then two 15 minute periods of EXTRA TIME are played. The actual length of each period of extra time is proportional to the 'Length of Each Half' which is selected. Difficulty Level: When you play against the computer in a one player game you can select one of three levels of skill for your opponent: Amateur Professional International In the Cup competition the computer begins the quarterfinals at the level set here. The computer difficulty increases by one in the semi-finals and by one again in the finals. This means that a Cup-Final against the computer is always played at International standard. Number of Players(Cup Only): Up to eight persons can take part in the Cup competition. A random draw decides the quarter final stage and matches are played and replayed if necessary to find the four semi-finalists. These are then randomly drawn and the two games played out to decide the finalists. Computer Opponent (Cup Only)- If less than eight persons are contesting the Cup competition then you have the option of letting the computer make up the remaining teams. If 'Computer Opponent' is set to 'YES' then the cup draw will, whenever possible, match a player with a computer controlled opponent. If it is set to 'NO' then player is drawn against player and any 'spare' player will be given a 'bye' into the next round Use SS to highlight the Match Detail you wish to alter. The use SP to step along the options as required. When you have set up the Match Details to your satisfaction press CS to return to the Main Menu. CHANGE TEAM NAMES You can type in any name you wish for the eight Cup teams with the 'Change Team Names' menu. To do this go to the Main Menu and use SS to highlight the 'Change Team Names' option. Now press ENTER. You can now re-type the team name (using DELETE CAPS SHIFT AND 0 as necessary). Finish by pressing ENTER. Note 1: If a single match is played the team names are the first two in the 'Change Team Names' menu. Note 2: (Competition only) For clarify, computer controlled opponents are written on a red background, players teams are on a blue background. When you have changed all the names you wish, press CS to return to the Main Menu. CHANGE TEAM COLOURS This menu, along with the next ('Change Game Controls') is available at the start of every game. To test it, start a single player game by selecting the top option - 'Play International Match Day (1 Player Game)' - from the main menu The display will now show the current match scoreline and team strips. Note that the team which appears on the left of the screen has its goal at the left end of the field. You will also see the following menu. KICK-OFF CHANGE TEAM COLOURS CHANGE GAME CONTROLS SWAP CONTROLS To change the team colours firstly highlight this option (by pressing SS - SYMBOL SHIFT) and now press ENTER. You can now use SS to select from a choice of field, line, backboard and team strip colours and SP the change the border colour. When you have changed the colours to suit your taste press CS (CAPS SHIFT) to return to the 'start of the game' menu You will notice that the SS marker has returned to the kick-off option. If you now wish to alter the game controls, press SS until this choice is highlighted. Now press ENTER. CHANGE GAME CONTROLS To control your team player you can use any key on the keyboard or any joystick. There are five 'player' controls: UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT and KICK (also used to make goalkeepers DIVE and take THROW-INS). There are also two PAUSE GAME keys. Pressing both PAUSE GAME keys together during the match produces the following on-screen message. CS to Abort International Match Day. Any other key to continue game. If the game aborted is a cup match then the following rules apply: 1. If the match is against the computer, the computer will go through to the next round (on the assumption that the person wishes to leave the competition if he aborts the game.) 2. If the match is against another player then the current scoreline stands unless it is a draw in which case one of the players is randomly chosen to go through to the next round. Note: You must choose separate keys for 'PAUSE'. To change a particular control, use SPACE to highlight the appropriate symbol and press ENTER. If you are redefining a key you will be presented with the ZX Spectrum key layout. Use SYMBOL SHIFT and SPACE to change the flashing key to the one you want and finish with ENTER. If you are selecting a joystick use space to highlight your choice and finish with ENTER. Notice that the controls as currently selected are printed out in the two Bottom 'STATUS' lines. When you have defined the controls to your satisfaction press CS to return to the match. Notices that the 'STATUS' line is reproduced at the bottom of the screen. The last option on the 'Start of Game' menu allows you to simply swap the controls for each player. This is particularly useful in two player games if you only have one joystick. As stated this menu will be presented at the end of each period of the gome. For now, with the 'Kick-Off' option highlighted, press ENT to start the game. SET HANDICAP If you wish to set a handicap you can increase either score before the match starts. Use the SPACE BAR to select the team, ENTER key to increase the score and SYMBOL SHIR to decrease the score. When you have completed the score adjustments press CAPS SHIFT to return to the match. The game will then start with the score adjusted. SHOOT TO WIN!