Much quicker way of creating and editing tactics.

I would like to write about an alternative way of creating SWOS tactics, which could be much faster than using in-game tactic editor. In general, the idea is to make tactics like it s in e.g. Football Manager or many other football games, so just picking every player on particular position (you are playing right back, you are playing second striker, etc.). How to do this? Of course by hex editing

Firsty, the basic informations about how tactic file is built will be needed:
8 bytes - tactic name
1 byte - free 00 byte
35 bytes - informations about first outfield player behavior (RB)
35 bytes - the same for second player (D)
35 bytes - D/M (depends on tactic)
35 bytes - LB
35 bytes - RW
35 bytes - D/M
35 bytes - M/A
35 bytes - LW
35 bytes - M/A
35 bytes - A
10 bytes - flip on/off info (as we won t use it, should be set as FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF)
1 byte - info about original SWOS base tactic.

More detailed info about tactic file structure can be found in this article - bigcalm.tripod.com/swos/tactics-analysis.htm

Such a file structure allows to create something that can be called position templates - it s just a set of 35 bytes that completely describes behavior of footballer. I ve created 99 templates for particular positions (in attachment). They are all described (e.g. D-C is just an template for central defender, MAM-LC is left/central midfielder/attacking midfielder, M-LL is left midfielder playing wider than M-L, etc.) Of course we can create any template we could imagine...

When we have templates, so now everything we have to is just to select 10 templates to build a formation and paste it in proper places.

What are advantages of this idea?
The biggest advantage is probably time - now we could fill even all six user tacitc slots faster than creating single tactic using in-game editor, and then prepare for many match variants (defensive/offensive version of our tactic, or better preparing for putting our super-sub in ) The next advantage is tactic modifying - when we already have some tactic, and e.g we want to tell our RB to play more like RWB, we only need to re-paste one template.

It will be even faster if someone could write an user-friendly program which could create/edit templates and build formations using them

Tactic file structure is identical for Amiga and PC version, so it works for Amiga and PC.

So this is my idea. Anybody thinks it has any sense?

Great idea! So called Advanced Tactics Creator would be very useful.
Could you please make some kind of flow-chart or sketch of user-interface for making the utility?

In basic form, such a program should allow user to build tactic from prepared templates. Firstly, user should have to choose one from 12 original SWOS tactics as a base tactic, then name it and choose ten of templates, and it s done, the program can now create a name.tac SWOS tactic file

So if user chose 4-5-1 as a base tactic, something like this could appear:

RB - load template
D - load template
D - load template
LB - load template
RW - load template
M - load template
M - load template
M - load template
LW - load template
A - load template

I ve prepared 99 templates. I ve just split playing field on 9x11 positions. 9 horizontal lines are:

D - defender
DM - defensive midfielder
M - central midfielder
AM - attacking midfielder
A - forward
plus four intermediate ones (eg. MAM is position between M and AM)

And 11 vertical lines are:

R - right
RC - right/central
C - central
LC - left/central
L - left
plus four intermediate ones and plus two the widest ones (e.g. RR is player playing on the right side, but wider than R).

All combinations of above lines gives 99 positions, and I tried to create tempate for every position... I think it s enough of them.

Also saving tactics to some new format will be useful for loading and modifying tactics later, because I think that loading tactis from SWOS .tac format will be difficult to realise (no possibility of load .tac file created by in-game SWOS editor). Putting created tactics into a save disk will be also helpful.

The next useful function could be to edit and create templates, but probably some kind of a graphic intefrace will be need to implement it, don t know if it s possible though. A graphic interface could also allow user not to manually select templates to load, but rather to pick, move and drop players through the pitch, as it is in e.g. Football Manager and many more football-related games...

All i ve written above (inlcuding templates) is of course just my personal thoughts, maybe you or anybody else could invent how to realise it all in a better way

Cheers

I have made very brief user interface design by powerpoint. (Attachment file)



Any opinion or comment?

Looks promising

Of course the templates can be treated as somenting like starter, and next step will be correcting tactic in SWOS in-game editor User could also correct the templates itselves.

Yes, modification of player(behavior) templates is a very good idea but it is somewhat difficult to realize it. :

Anyway. development of Advanced Tactics Creator ( www.sensiblesoccer.de/forum/index.php?to....msg113012#msg113012 ) is at very(very) early stage (Concept design phase). Thank you for your comments. :)

what I really like is that picture on the right where you see the different ball positions and all the players positions in that ball spot, all in one overview. I mean, if it s designed to do that.

Personally I ve always wondered about how to create a spreadsheet or some such where you can see all the ball positions and put all the players in the spot where you want them. Your templates would be useful as a starter to determine whether you want a defensive right back, an upcoming right back, a right back that plays very central or one that plays wide, etc.

Thank you. Please refer to the preview screenshots of the tactics creator, www.sensiblesoccer.de/forum/index.php?to....msg113012#msg113012 :)