Computer Basketball Game

Do you want to learn more about the Strat-O-Matic computer basketball game? This article will attempt to describe the Strat-O-Matic computer basketball and its features as well as provide you with some screenshots to help you learn more about the game, what can be done with it, and hopefully you’ll decide to give it a try. Whether you’re interested in running or participating in a league, replaying your favorite team through the whole season, or setting up a tournament with all your favorite teams, the computer basketball game equips you with the power and features to do so. Plus, there are many more features you’ll be able to take advantage while working on your basketball projects.

Game Manager – When you open up the game it starts up in game manager screen where you are able to view the leagues you have installed in the game as well as each of the teams in each league, the free agents in that league, and the players on each team. It is also here where you will be able to access the features in the game using the game menu.

League – With the league functions through the game menu you will be able to create a new league, model a league after another one, update your existing leagues, and maintain your league schedule. While in the Manager you can add teams or players to a league by copying them by dragging and dropping them from one league to the next league.

Schedule – You are able to setup your schedule by adding or deleting games to your schedule or you can have the game auto-generate one for you. You are also able to export the schedule to a text file where you can simply edit teams in it by using the “replace” in your text editor and then input the schedule back into the league. Once you have created your schedule and when you play a league game you choose from the schedule which game you would like to play where you can choose to play it manual or auto play it. You are even able to auto play the entire league schedule if you choose in only 50 seconds! 

Computer Manager – It is through the computer manager where you will setup how you want the computer to manage your team either when playing in your own draft league where you manage one or a couple of teams or in an email league. First, you will determine who you want eligible for the game since only 12 players may be eligible for one game. Then in the profile you determine how often you want your players positioned inside on offense and whether you want them to shoot a fastbreak off a steal or setup in the team offense. Through the minutes grid by adjusting the minutes you determine who will be brought off the bench at a given position with foul trouble or fatigue. You also can determine what type of shot each player will take against a certain type of halfcourt defense and switch situations against bigger or smaller players. In the coach instructions you determine the lineups in each quarter in 6, 4, or 2 minute intervals as well as which player(s) are positioned inside and the type of offense you want to run during that interval. With an understanding of how the computer manages a team and how to setup the gameplan you can create one that can be successful against a human coach.

Defensive Profile – The defensive profile is used when creating a gameplan against a specific team which you will use to program the computer coach to use a close, normal or sag defense against each of the players on a team. You can also use this to double team specific players with defenders from certain offensive players that you choose to leave open off the double team.

Game – The most exciting part of the computer basketball game is actually using it to play a game. Before playing a game though you have can set several preferences relating to the game speed, different rules, saving different files after a game, and how involved you want to be in the game. When playing a league game you are able to add your opponents gameplan into the game. You can also play a game against a live opponent using the netplay feature built into the game. In the bench screen before the game starts and during timeouts or between quarter breaks, you determine your offense and defense. During play you select which types of shots your players shoot during the game.

Player Notebook – In the player notebook you will be able to view a player’s card image (remember to order the game with the card image option to use this feature) which is equivalent to the card in the cards & dice version of the basketball game. You’ll also be able to view the player’s ratings as well as a log of the statistics from each game this player has played in.  Here are a couple of screenshots you’ll see in the player notebook:

Team Notebook – In the team notebook you can view the close, normal, and sag defense card images (again you must have the card image option). You will also be able to view the players’ ratings, team statistics, and linescores from here.

Team Reports – In the team reports you will find reports on the roster, schedule, and computer manager for a team.

Team Statistics – In team statistics you can view either total, per 48 minutes, per game, or even prorated statistics for a season. You can also view team splits, linescores, and leaders.

League Statistics – In league statistics you can view the various league statistics such as standings, league leaders, newspaper recap, team totals, win/loss records, team highs/lows, triple doubles, linescores, highest performances, and injuries.

Report Writer – The report writer allows you to create statistical reports, both team and player, for your league or conference using many already created reports or you can create new customized reports.

Draft-O-Matic – After placing players in the free agent pool, the Draft-O-Matic feature will allow you to draft players to teams either manually or automatically. This is a useful feature in creating your own projects as the computer can draft automatically for all the teams while you can draft your own team against it or you. You can also use this feature in leagues by adding rookies or free agents to the free agent pool and then setting up a draft for your league where the computer can draft for teams without a manager.

Tournament – The tournament function allows you to setup a tournament with 2 to 4096 teams, either a single elimination game or a series with 3, 5, or 7 games. You can import teams from different leagues and play games either manually or autoplay them with the computer. The tournament statistics will be maintained as well as a tournament recap will be created.

Blogging – The blog feature allows you to post to a Blogger account. If you do not have one you can find it at http://www.blogger.com/. While in the basketball game from the game manager through the main menu under file you can post comments directly to you blog. While viewing any of the reports in the game you will have an option on the menu to print that report to  your blog.

Team Notebook – The team notebook is an htm file that you create for each team in a league. This notebook contains the team’s court as the header image, the team’s player stats, team splits, linescores and team leaders, and a player section for each player on the team. This player section has the player’s picture under his name, the player’s total, per 48 minutes, and per game statistics, and the most productive performances for that player.