Mana Games

[rodgegui]

Hi,
I am regularly trying to do small mods and particularly to the file Players.ATP.Ini. After several careers I have some ideas that could possibly improve tennis elbow even if I find it is the best tennis game I have ever played!
In each careers after the last "real year", you have players such as Pongsiri Niroj for instance who really dominate the game after having come out from nowhere. Sometimes it happens before the end of the "game real part" (Pongsiri Niroj won the 2009 Australian Open as a world 152nd in my last career...)
That is why I thought that instead of having a year range from 1990 to 2026 it would be better to have a last year that is 2011 and a first year oldest than 1990. To my eyes it could allow having more realistic results (or reality based at least). I know it is a huge work but I think it is easier than creating false players for the years after 2011. So I started to create a file containing some players from 1973 (the year the ATP was created) to 1989 in order to test it in tennis elbow. I tried it but it appears that in spite of the presence of players whom start year is below 1990, the year range that is proposed at the beginning of the career remains 1990-2026. Is it possible to modify this?
I searched a parameter that could be the one in gamesys.ini but I did not find it.

Thanks for this game!

[torto14]

It's a nice idea but to realistically simulate the play from the 70s and 80s (e.g. wooden rackets) you would need to modify the engine not just modify the databases. You would also need to simulate the different surfaces used (faster grass, slower clay) which I don't think is currently possible. This would be great to see actually, I can't think of another game that covers the old eras of tennis so it would add another unique selling point to the game. Basically I think the idea of playing Borg, Connors etc with the modern style gameplay would be weird (although those two are in the game anyway ) , moreso than the random results there are now.

I think 1990 is chosen as the first year because it was the first season of the ATP tour (although the ATP was created in the 70s, before 1990 there was the Grand Prix and the WCT tour).

[manutoo]

Hello,

with the current official player base, there's no way Pongsiri Niroj could win anything in 2009. He may win big tournaments in 2011, though. But 2011 is still a fictional year for now.

I chose 1990 as 1st year for 2 reasons :
- in 1989, there were a lot less players on the tour (probably coz of the reason outlined by torto14, which I actually didn't know )
- this is for me the start of modern tennis with the raise of the big hitters (Courrier & Agassi in 1st line), and the old school players behind already falling away (mainly: Lendl), thus the gameplay can match these times more or less correctly (on women side it's a bit less true, though)

[rodgegui]

You would also need to simulate the different surfaces used (faster grass, slower clay) which I don't think is currently possible.

I think the current tennis elbow's grass is closer to the one we used to see during the 90's than the one on which Rafa Nadal won wimbledon, so it is not really a problem. Besides carpets are not used anymore on ATP events since 2003 or 2004.

Basically I think the idea of playing Borg, Connors etc with the modern style gameplay would be weird (although those two are in the game anyway ) , moreso than the random results there are now.

yeah but 1991 Borg... But Connors way of playing was close to 2000's tennis. I think he was one of the first to hit the ball so hard.
I think it is possible just by modifiyng the DB. The wooden racquet were less powerfull but the players had (relatively to now) greater skills in "touch shots" (don't know if that is the right term, english is not my mother tongue as you may have noticed^^). So for example if you set the shots power to 20 and the lob or the dropshot to 60 it could change the playing style.

I think 1990 is chosen as the first year because it was the first season of the ATP tour (although the ATP was created in the 70s, before 1990 there was the Grand Prix and the WCT tour).

I chose 1990 as 1st year for 2 reasons :
- in 1989, there were a lot less players on the tour (probably coz of the reason outlined by torto14, which I actually didn't know )
- this is for me the start of modern tennis with the raise of the big hitters (Courrier & Agassi in 1st line), and the old school players behind already falling away (mainly: Lendl), thus the gameplay can match these times more or less correctly (on women side it's a bit less true, though)

I indeed noticed there were less players on the tour before this year but is it possible to change the year 1990 to 1973 or is it a game "constant"?

with the current official player base, there's no way Pongsiri Niroj could win anything in 2009. He may win big tournaments in 2011, though. But 2011 is still a fictional year for now.

I am pretty sure I am using the last database but I may have mistaken while updating the game... but I can ensure you he won! But It is not a big issue for me I am still very very far from playing this kind of tournament .

Thanks

[manutoo]

rodgegui,
in the Players.ini, look at the very beginning for this line :
FirstYear = 1990
You can change it to whatever you want (if you don't provide for every year at least 2 players per country in the Country Cups, the game won't work, though).

[rodgegui]

I tried but it does not work. The careers proposed remains 1990-2015, 1991-2016 and so forth. So I tried to look at the tennis.ini: I have found a line "StartYear=..." I replaced 1990 by 1973. I then launched the game but still the same careers proposals. I got back to tennis.ini and the StartYear was reset to 1990... So I don't know what to do. I think the solution to this problem lies in the .pak but I have already had a look at it (especially Gamesys.ini) and did'nt find anything.
Do you have another idea?

[manutoo]

Something is messed up in your installation ; I checked again, and it's in the Players.ini that you have to change it.
Be sure to have the v1.0b and no Modded files from an earlier version (especially Menu files).

[rodgegui]

I have the latest version. I am finally convinced there are too few players for some years. I think that with the same calendar, it will make the game crash. I am forced to give up but I am happy with the game as it is so no worry!