The BBC and Master Computer Public Domain Library

SUPERIOR SOCCER

 

 

Professional, Originally Released On Cassette Only

 

Game Type          : Arcade; Management And Arcade Game Combined

Author             : Peter Scott

Standalone Release(s)   : 1987: SUPERIOR SOCCER, Superior/Acornsoft, £9.95

                    1990: SUPERIOR SOCCER, Superior/Blue Ribbon, £2.99

Compilation Release(s) : 1990: PLAY IT AGAIM SAM 14, Superior/Acornsoft, £9.95

Stated compatibility    : Electron

Actual compatibility    : Electron, BBC B, B+ and Master 128

Supplier            : SUPERIOR/ACORNSOFT

Disc compatibility     : CDFS E00, DFS E00

 

 

Instructions

"You can choose to play either the action-packed arcade game or the challenging football management game, or, for the ultimate in football excitement and realism, you can play the combined arcade and mangement game. So you can choose to be a player, a manager or a player-manager!

 

ARCADE SOCCER FEATURES

 

* Heading, passing, dribbling, sliding tackles, corners, throw-ins, goal kicks

* One or two player options - play against a friend or the computer

* Full pitch scanner shows the postions of all players and the ball

* Control of playing time, game-skill and team colours

* Full on-screen time and score information and game comments

 

FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT FEATURES

 

* Four divisions with promotion and relegation

* Full season of games - home and away matches

* Transfers - sell players, and buy if you have the cash

* Choose your team according to strengths and skills

* Build up your finances and success by skill and clever strategy"

 

SUPERIOR SOCCER is a menu-based program. Use the CURSOR ARROW KEYS to move the arrow around and RETURN to select an option. You needn't be too precise with the vertical position of the arrow. Some options can be repeatedly selected to change the information they display, for example, the "CHANGE TIME" and "CHANGE COLOUR" options on the "PLAY SOCCER" menu.

 

You can choose to play either ARCADE SOCCER or FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT alone or play the COMPLETE GAME. In the ARCADE SOCCER game you can choose to play either against a friend ("2 PLAYER" option) or against the computer ("1 PLAYER" option). If you select the COMPLETE GAME you will play all your fixtures against the computer.

 

You can quit the game at any time and return to the initial menu page by pressing the SHIFT and ESCAPE keys together.

 

Arcade Soccer

If you choose to play the "1 PLAYER" game, you can select the "SKILL LEVEL" of the computer (between 0 and 9) from the "PLAY SOCCER" menu. This also determines the skill level of your goalie. In the "2 PLAYER" game, "SKILL LEVEL" determines the skills of both goalies.

 

The arrows around a player indicate you have control over that player. This is normally the nearest player to the ball. However, if you are moving a player around, that player will remain selected until you stop moving, then control will switch to the player nearest the ball. Your goalie is controlled by the computer, depending on his, and your team's skill.

 

On the scanner, at the top left-hand side, you can see all the players and the ball. The flashing dots indicate the players you and your opponent currently control. (Sometimes if players near the ball cross paths one may appear on the scanner the same colour as the ball. Be careful not to confuse this player with the ball.)

 

PLAYER MOVEMENT - You move the player you control using the default keys (given above) or the keys you selected on the title page. Diagonal movement is achieved by using two keys together, for example to move diagonally left and down use the LEFT and DOWN keys simultaneously.

 

KICKING THE BALL IN THE AIR - To kick the ball in the air, when the player is in contact with the ball, press the FIRE key for a medium distance and press the UP, DOWN and FIRE keys together for a long distance.

 

PASSING - Press the LEFT and RIGHT keys together for a short pass along the ground; press the UP and DOWN keys together for a long pass along the ground. This can be quite tricky and needs to be practised.

 

DRIBBLING - This can be very useful and is achieved by simply running with the ball at your feet without changing direction by more than 45 degrees. For example, the ball will not remain at your feet if you turn around from left to right, but will if you change from left to diagonal left and down.

 

HEADING - When the ball is in the air (or at any other time) pressing the FIRE key on its own causes the player to jump and make a header. You can tell when the ball is in the air from the shadow it casts.

 

SLIDE TACKLE - To slide tackle, move in any direction and press the FIRE key. Your player will continue to slide for a while. Slide-tackling is particarly effective coming in at right-angles to the direction the other player is moving (for example from the left or right if the player is running up or down).

 

CORNERS, GOAL KICKS and THROW-INS - For goal kicks and throw-ins, you can vary the direction and power of the kick or throw. The player cycles through a number of directions, and a power-meter (PWR) indicates the strength of the kick or throw. For corners, you can only vary the power of the kick. Pressing the FIRE key releases the ball. Obviously, goal kicks go the furthest, but be careful with diagonal directions as the ball may go out of play if you are not careful.

 

Game Controls

The keys to move the players and to FIRE are redefinable (by pressing the C key) before commencing play. Initially the keys are defined as:

 

           BBC Micro                               Electron

 

     Player 1    Player 2                    Player 1    Player 2

 

        Z           >         Move Left         Z           <

        X           ?         Move Right        X           >

        Q           {          Move Up          W           £

        A           *         Move Down         S           +

       TAB          £            Fire           Q           _

 

 

Football Manager

You initially choose one team from the four groups of teams. This team is then placed in Division 4. You play eleven matches in a season, so you play every other team in the division once, either home or away. The first two teams in each division are promoted and the last two are relegated. Your overall objective is to become Division 1 League Champions.

 

On screens displaying fixtures, results or league tables, select the "GO ON!" option to continue.

 

On the team selection screen you must "de-select" players from your team squad until you have eleven players left. Your team squad starts with thirteen players, but can vary between eleven and fourteen. The white square at the left-hand side of each player's name indicates whether he is selected or not. The first player listed is your goalie.

 

Once you have chosen your team, move the arrow to the top line (the "PICK PLAYERS" line on the BBC version, a row of dots on the Electron version) and press RETURN.

 

You earn a varying amount of money for each match, depending on which division you are in and how many people turn out to see you.

 

You can use your money to buy players and gain extra money by selling players. You are not offered a player to buy each time you select the BUY option: it depends on the market. The skill (SKL) and strength (STR) of each player is shown. You are advised to use the SELL option before the BUY option if you want to both sell and buy, as the BUY option leaves this section. If you don't buy any new players, your team becomes tired towards the end of a season. Players should be rested regularly otherwise your team performance will suffer.

 

 

Instructions' Source   : SUPERIOR SOCCER (Superior/Acornsoft) Back and Inner Inlay

 

Review (Electron User) - "Tricky Tactics Tackler"

In the past, football programs have tended to concentrate upon playing the game or managing it. With the advent of SUPERIOR SOCCER you can do both. Once you have specified whether or not you will be playing alone or with a friend, your next job is to decide which sections you intend to tackle.

 

Realising that you may not always have a full evening free, Superior allows you to play either the arcade or the management part in isolation. The arcade game provides a comprehensive list of options. The ten skill levels determine the ability of the opposition in the one-player game or the skill of both goal-keepers when using the two-player option. Other niceties allow you to specify the duration of a match or change the colours of the team's shirts.

 

SUPERIOR SOCCER does not support a joystick option so you and your opponent must each select a set of keys with which to control your respective teams. You control only one player at a time and he is identified by arrows. The program determines which player you control by always selecting the one nearest the ball when you relinquish control of the current one. This feature can be over-ridden to some degree by keeping a man moving once he has been chosen.

 

Players can perform a whole range of footballing type antics, such as passing, tackling, heading and throwing - providing that you can master the controls, that is.

 

The instructions mention that some of the activities require a great deal of practice before you can execute them fluently. They are not kidding: I must have made twenty abortive attempts to pass the ball before I eventually succeeded. The best way to practice your ball skills is to select the two-player option and then play alone - your chances of winning are also improved slightly.

 

SUPERIOR SOCCER's graphics are very good. A large central window follows the movement of the ball as it is booted around the pitch by the Gauntlet-style players.

 

Player movement off the ball and your position in relation to the whole pitch can be monitored by glancing at the Pitch Scanner. This small green rectangle is a map of the pitch on which both teams and the ball are represented by different coloured dots - not that you will find much time to look at it. 

 

One of the game's fun features is the cartoon commentator who issues forth a constant stream of David Colemanisms, but only in speech bubbles. If you begin to find the arcade action a little too hectic you can always sit back and play at being the boss.

 

Starting in any of the four divisions you must fight your way into one of the top two positions in order to achieve promotion. Your best bet is to gain some experience and money by spending a couple of seasons in division four, before making a concerted effort for the big time.

 

Your first task as manager is to survey your squad and assess which players are at peak fitness - this can be done by observing their skill and strength ratings.

 

When playing the management game alone, you just sit and wait for the match results to be displayed on the screen. Following a brief look at the league table you can nip down to the transfer market. Here you can offer one of your down-and-outs for sale and hope that some mug will bid a million.

 

As you reach the end of the season you may just about be able to afford to buy a new striker, if one is available. The program determines what calibre of player is to be sold and at what price. If either of these factors do not meet your requirements then that's too bad, because there won't be another sale until after next week's game.

 

The secret of good management is to monitor the skill and strength of each team member closely. If each player is not rested at regular intervals the performance of the whole team can suffer dramatically.

 

If you have a spare evening at your disposal you can take a shot at both managing and playing. But with eleven games per season, this may prove a little taxing for all but the most ardent of football fanatics.

 

By combining both the arcade and management routines into one composite program, Superior has given the punter the best of all worlds. No longer can the relegated manager blame lady luck for his downfall. By stepping out on to the pitch with his lads he has nobody to blame but himself.

Jon Revis

 

* * * Second Opinion * * * (Electron User)

First it was golf and now it's soccer, here we go...Not being an arcade game fan I only took a passing glance at the "tactical" part of the game - the David Coleman-clone was mildly amusing but his comments were limited and continued even when there was no action on the pitch. The managing section was very simple to use but definitely fun - it kept my attention for several hours. And I'd recommend it for a quiet evening's entertainment.

Steve Turnbull

 

Sound ........................... 6

Graphics ........................ 8

Playability ..................... 8

Value for money ................. 9

Overall ......................... 8

 

ELECTRON USER 7. 3