Audiogenic's 1994 cricket game for DOS

LilleeWilleyDilley

School Cricketer
Joined
Oct 2, 2015
During 2020, I created a number of edits and “fixes” for this game, and I believe they have the potential to make many people stop playing their more recent cricket games and revert to playing this old classic that many people probably gave up on a long time ago.

1) I found a way to change the number of overs per day in test-matches and unlimited-over matches to around 90 overs per day (just like in real life) instead of around 60 overs per day, which is the game’s default number of overs per day.

2) I found a way to create timeless test-matches – these are test matches where the number of days are unlimited and the match can theoretically go on forever. (Around one-third of all test-matches prior to World War 2 were timeless)


3) I found a way to change the game from being “too easy’ on the Professional level and from being “far too difficult” on the World Class level. Overall, its a way to make the gameplay ALOT more realistic.

4) I found a way to prevent the game from being too easy to bowl constant dot-balls at the CPU batting team, and from being too easy to constantly bowl the CPU batting team out cheaply, thus preventing the CPU batting team from making an unrealistic score most of the time.

5) I can explain what needs to be edited in order so that you or the CPU batting team may hit the ball and run for 3 runs, since it is virtually impossible, if not totally impossible to see this happen in the game’s default setup. (By default you can only hit the ball and run for 1 or 2 runs, notwithstanding the rare over-throw, or hit the ball for a 4 or 6)

6) I found a way to make the CPU batting team use night-watchmen when applicable.


7) I found a way to make the limited-overs matches last for just a day like in real life instead of going into the second day. (50-over matches in the game always last 2 days for some reason)

8) I found a way to solve the bug that sometimes sees the wicketkeeper standing slightly out of position, and the bowler running and unable to follow through with each delivery thus resulting in an unintentional maiden-over.


9) I found a way to replace most of the default sound files with different sound files.

10) I found out a procedure to create classic-match scenarios in this game - well, basically. One will just need some precision for this and a lot of trial-and-error.

11) I found a way to change the default fielding positions of all teams into more realistic fielding setups. These changes are automatically bestowed on all teams in one go, so you won't need to rearrange the positions of every single team one by one in order to get the new setups. (A range of setups for limited-over matches and a range for unlimited-over matches)

12) I found a way to change the starting times, finishing times, lunch-break times, and tea-break times for matches, if desired.

13) I found a way to reduce the number of run-outs in the game for the CPU batting team. Normally there were always at least 2 run-outs in each batting innings of every single type of match I played, which is slightly unrealistic compared to what happens in real-life. This reduction should thus complement the other above-mentioned adjustments that enable the CPU batting team to generally make higher / realistic scores.

I'm curious to know what people think about this. Has anyone else been able to achieve the same things? (I contacted Audiogenic about this but they don’t sound too interested)
 
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weetabixharry

County Cricketer
Joined
Jul 13, 2009
Location
Zurich, Switzerland
Profile Flag
England
I would be interested to know how you did these things. Will you be uploading any description of how you did them, and exactly what the changes to the game behavior are?
 

LilleeWilleyDilley

School Cricketer
Joined
Oct 2, 2015
I would be interested to know how you did these things. Will you be uploading any description of how you did them, and exactly what the changes to the game behavior are?

I am still writing what I have discovered into a game-guide... It will probably take up around 5 pages in A4 format with standard font.

Some of the steps in making the changes in Allan Border's Cricket are also a little different to the steps for making the exact same changes in Brian Lara's Cricket too, which also needs pointing out.

But once that happens, maybe I should consider the approach I should take to disclose it...

Maybe I should contact Audiogenic again and ask them if they would be interested in buying the ownership rights for this information, if it's worth anything.
 
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weetabixharry

County Cricketer
Joined
Jul 13, 2009
Location
Zurich, Switzerland
Profile Flag
England
Maybe I should contact Audiogenic again and ask them if they would be interested in buying the ownership rights for this information, if it's worth anything.

Given that the entire game has been surrendered as abandonware and can be downloaded for free, I think it is safe to assume they wouldn't pay anything for this information.

Also, as far as I understand, reverse-engineering and editing games is technically considered a copyright violation. It's something a lot of people enjoy doing (including me) and game developers generally allow it to happen (or even encourage it, if it generates community interest), but it's probably not something you should expect to earn money from.

Well, if you do upload a guide someday, I would probably read it.
 

LilleeWilleyDilley

School Cricketer
Joined
Oct 2, 2015
Given that the entire game has been surrendered as abandonware and can be downloaded for free, I think it is safe to assume they wouldn't pay anything for this information.

Also, as far as I understand, reverse-engineering and editing games is technically considered a copyright violation. It's something a lot of people enjoy doing (including me) and game developers generally allow it to happen (or even encourage it, if it generates community interest), but it's probably not something you should expect to earn money from.

Well, if you do upload a guide someday, I would probably read it.

The last time I contacted Peter from Audiogenic, I only told him that I found a way to change the test matches from 60 overs per day to 90 overs. That was it. He then told me that he would not mind if I shared how this can be achieved publicly online. I then asked him if could I share this information to the public for a small fee, to which he replied "I don't see why not".

Whats interesting however is that, although Allan Border Cricket and Brian Lara Cricket for DOS appear to be abandonware, for some reason Jonty Rhodes II: World Class Cricket is still a copyrighted commercial title and not freeware as the site the download was linked to, claimed. I do not know the case for Graham Gooch World Class Cricket, though.
 

weetabixharry

County Cricketer
Joined
Jul 13, 2009
Location
Zurich, Switzerland
Profile Flag
England
The last time I contacted Peter from Audiogenic, I only told him that I found a way to change the test matches from 60 overs per day to 90 overs. That was it. He then told me that he would not mind if I shared how this can be achieved publicly online. I then asked him if could I share this information to the public for a small fee, to which he replied "I don't see why not".

No problem. I guess if your guide becomes abandonware in 26 years then I might have a look then!

Whats interesting however is that, although Allan Border Cricket and Brian Lara Cricket for DOS appear to be abandonware, for some reason Jonty Rhodes II: World Class Cricket is still a copyrighted commercial title and not freeware as the site the download was linked to, claimed. I do not know the case for Graham Gooch World Class Cricket, though.

Yeah, I'm not sure. I wouldn't be surprised if, officially, they are all still under copyright, just no one really cares any more if the copyright is violated. Therefore, they can be offered as freeware (by anyone who happens to have the installation files) and no one will pursue legal action.
 

LilleeWilleyDilley

School Cricketer
Joined
Oct 2, 2015
No problem. I guess if your guide becomes abandonware in 26 years then I might have a look then!



Yeah, I'm not sure. I wouldn't be surprised if, officially, they are all still under copyright, just no one really cares any more if the copyright is violated. Therefore, they can be offered as freeware (by anyone who happens to have the installation files) and no one will pursue legal action.

I find it very difficult to believe I am the only person in the whole world in the last 26 years to have discovered these modifications to the game. If other people already know about these modifications, there must be a reason why they have not disclosed them online or anywhere else at large...
 
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LilleeWilleyDilley

School Cricketer
Joined
Oct 2, 2015
THE UNOFFICIAL STRATEGY & REVERSE-ENGINEERING GUIDE FOR
AUDIOGENIC'S BRIAN LARA CRICKET FOR DOS.

Okie dokie. I am writing a detailed guide for the first cricket game that was actually worth playing and worth keeping, Brian Lara Cricket 94, a.k.a Graham Gooch World Class cricket, a.k.a Allan Border’s Cricket, a.k.a Jonty Rhodes II World Class Cricket. From here on I shall refer to them as BLC94 GGWCC, ABC, and JRIIWCC respectively. This guide is specifically for the DOS version. Please note that the sections of my guide concerning hex-editing of actual offsets and columns will only work for BLC94 , because the corresponding offsets and columns in GGWCC, ABC, and JRIIWC, are slightly different, but if you follow the hex-editing sections in my guide thoroughly you should be able to identify the corresponding offsets and columns for these other versions too, since they are not far off from each other. So with a few exceptions, please use this guide for the BLC94 DOS version in mind. This game was first made for the Amiga platform in 1993. The DOS version came out in 1994, followed by a Sega Genesis version in 1995 and an update to the Sega Genesis version in 1996 and a PC update in 1997 called Shane Warne Cricket 1997.

(Regarding the 1996 Sega Genesis update version, if anyone has found out how to reverse-engineer the game in such a way to completely remove the option of playing on Dusty and Damp pitches, thus making it possible to play solely on Normal or Green pitches only, please, please let me know!)

Like most if not all other cricket games the DOS version still has its own fair share of bugs and unrealistic features that might have made you give up on playing this game a very long time ago, but if you read this guide I can show you how to both fix and compensate for these drawbacks and turn this 1-megabyte game from mediocre to very good. This guide is a huge overhaul of the game. You might even stop playing your current cricket game or think twice about getting the latest cricket game, and go straight back into playing this game again. :) You may even find that this is the best online guide for this game. :)

In order to properly follow everything and get the best out of this guide, I recommend deleting all your team directories and re-installing the game from scratch. It will be worth it. Make sure to keep a backup of all your players’ names, averages and styles if you wish. I also recommend you to read the entire guide BEFORE you start applying the advice.

Like all DOS games, you will need DosBox to play this game on modern computers and to get a decent frame-rate and the best audio. To achieve this, I recommend adjusting the cycles to 4000. Although this gives you a frame-rate that isn't as good as having 7000 or higher, the AI performs significantly better at 4000. At 7000 or higher, you may notice the game feels too easy. All in all, you can decide for yourself, and I shall explain more appropriate ways on how to make the game more challenging. My main mistake on giving up on this game a long time ago was that I adjusted the cycles too high. Only years later did I finally realise that the smoother frame-rate in turn made the AI worse, particularly the CPU batsmen.

You will also need a hex-editor to make some notable adjustments so download one if you don’t already have one; I use HxD.

I have a theory that JRIIWC has the least amount of bugs compared to ABC, GGWCC, and BLC94 (as in all the other 1994 DOS versions). I say this because when I right-click on the Properties of the CRICKET.EXE file in each version, I noticed by "date modified" that the Jonty Rhodes version came out later in 1994 than the other versions. While all the DOS versions came out in 1994, the earliest month was on GGWCC's EXE, followed by ABC, then BLC94, and finally JRIIWC. Each EXE file varies between 146, 147, and 148 kilobytes, and the programming of each EXE file appears to be different than the other when I viewed them all under a hex-editor. Each version feels slightly different when playing, especially when batting, and for me the JRIIWC version feels most realistic. The only advantage I see in ABC over the later versions is that this version has the option to play matches in both white and colour kits. I don't know how to play in colour kits in later versions - yet.

Although I believe JRIIWC is the latest DOS version (before Shane Warne 97), the hex edits and other advice in this guide are mainly for the BLC version. Please take note.

1) A fix for when you don’t like bowling at the CPU batsmen on the Professional level because it’s too easy, but you don’t want to change to the World Class level because you find batting on the World Class level too difficult:


The information containing how and when the batsmen responds to a ball being bowled, and how the ball responds after being hit by the batsmen, is contained in the default STROKE.DAT and DEFLECT.DAT files inside the game's main directory.

But before we "re-program" the difficulty settings, if you have ever looked at the game files for Shane Warne Cricket 1997 PC, you will notice inside the sub-folder DATA the files called STROKE.DAT, DEFLECT1.DAT, and DEFLECT2.DAT. (If you don't already have Shane Warne Cricket 97 for PC, buy or download the game and don't ask me where). Ignore the DEFLECT.DAT AND DEFLECT2. Now copy the STROKE.DAT files from Shane Warne 1997 into the main directory of any 1994 DOS version. Now download ABC and copy over the DEFLECT.DAT from that version into any other DOS version. These two files appear to be the latest official AI files for the original DOS versions according to the properties of each file under Date Created or Date Modified. Alternatively, you may rather want to hex-edit the default th STROKE.DAT or DEFLECT.DAT or files already contained in your cricket DOS version to your own satisfaction, but that might be more cumbersome. Either way, these new files alone may make you and/or the CPU batsmen bat more realistically on any difficulty setting that you prefer - yet you may only want to do this when the CPU is batting and just use the default-ready STROKE and DEFLECT files only for when you are batting, for example. What you can also do is just replace the STROKE file only and leave the default DEFLECT file in tact, and vice versa, for when you are batting and/or bowling... Just make sure your game is saved before exiting the game and before meddling with the STROKE.DAT and DEFLECT.DAT files. (I always use the new STROKE.DAT file for every single match I play whether batting or bowling) Do NOT insert the DEFLECT and DEFLECT2 files from Shane Warne Cricket 97 though, because the DEFLECT file of this game excludes the ability to hit sixes while the DEFLECT2 file only includes the ability to hit sixes and nothing else.

The reason I dont just play Shane Warne Cricket 1997 for PC instead of the 1994 DOS versions is because I prefer the simplicity and the interface of the 1994 DOS versions and because they are easier to reverse-engineer. Plus less clunkiness.

Now more to the point about adjusting the difficulty - the following suggestions can be used with or without the new STROKE.DAT and/or DEFLECT. DAT files mentioned previously, depending on the match settings you have chosen: When starting a new game and, only if you end up bowling, save the game as soon as possible, exit to the main menu and change the difficulty to World Class level. Restore the game. Now the CPU batsmen will be batting on World Class level and will thus play better. When the innings has completed, save the game just before it is your turn to bat, exit to the main menu, and change the difficulty back to Professional level. Restore the game. In this way, you will always be batting on the Professional level and the CPU will always be batting on the World Class level in the exact same match, thus batting will not be too difficult for you nor the CPU. If you are a real purist like me then I recommend ignoring the Amateur level completely and I do not recommend bowling to the CPU on Professional level. However, even when I bat on the Professional Level, I still find batting sometimes a little too easy. So if you also find batting a little too easy on the Professional level, I recommend facing the CPU fast bowlers on World Class level and the CPU spin and swing bowlers on Professional level. So once a different type of bowler comes next in to bowl, save your match at the end of the over, exit to the main menu, and change the difficulty to the appropriate level for that particular new bowler, then go back to the match you were playing. So when you are about to face a fast bowler at the start of a new over, save the match, exit the match to the main menu, and change the difficulty level to World Class level, and when you are about to face a spin or swing bowler, exit the match and change the difficulty to Professional level. I have found that facing the CPU fast bowlers on World Class level is generally not as difficult as facing the CPU spin bowlers and swing bowlers on World Class level. The key to facing the CPU fast bowlers on World Class level is to BLOCK, BLOCK and BLOCK. Block all the faster balls that are pitched in line with the stumps, and hit away all the other deliveries that are not in line with the stumps. Practice good timing and precision. Often you will be able to pick up a single just by blocking if you run hard. Very occasionally the CPU fast bowler will bowl a wide, while the balls that are not pitched at the stumps can be hit away occasionally for fours AND sixes, especially when using the on-drive for a short pitched ball. Balls that are pitched at the stumps can also be hit away for runs as long as there is little to no pace on those balls, but BLOCK ALL balls from fast bowlers that are both pitched in the direction of the stumps and have a fair amount of pace. You may also try facing the CPU swing bowlers on World Class level in addition to the CPU fast bowlers if you still find batting too easy, but I do NOT recommend facing ALL the CPU bowlers on World Class level, unless: you have a very small target of runs to chase and you want to make the match interesting, for example. Think of it this way, if you want to bat on a "fast, good, hard batting pitch", then bat mostly (but not completely) on the Professional level; if you want to bat on an "extremely slow and damp pitch", then bat mostly on the World Class; the reverse applies for the CPU batting team. And if you want to play on a "normal" pitch, then maintain a 50/50 balance between the Professional level and the World Class level. Flip your own coin or throw some dice to determine how the pitch will turn out for that particular day if you desire. :D

I have noticed that changing the difficulty in ABC makes little to no difference to the gameplay unlike in the other versions.

Don’t forget that you also have the option to disable the LBW rule in the match settings of the main menu for both your team or the CPU team. So if you find bowling at the CPU batting team is still too easy even on World Class level, you can disable the LBW rule just for their own innings to make it slightly more difficult for you to bowl the CPU batting team out. Then when you are batting, you can re-enable the LBW rule or keep it disabled, depending on whether you still find batting yourself to be too easy or too difficult.

If you still find the game too easy despite playing around with the LBW rule and meddling with the DAT files and the difficulty levels as described previously, then I suggest you increase the batting averages of your opposing team by one-quarter and decrease the bowling averages of your opposing team by one-quarter, and start a new match. So, for example, a batsman in the opposing team who normally averages 30 will now average 40 and a bowler in the opposing team who normally averages 36 will now average 27, but don’t erase the original averages completely. I doubt you will need to do any of this, but the key here is to experiment. Do not adjust the averages of the teams currently playing in a saved match unless you are prepared to abandon the match completely.

Update: I have noticed that you can actually play on the World Class difficulty level permanently whether you are bowling or batting (and you have followed my batting tips mentioned previously) - if you are prepared to save your match, abandon the match, and then quickly restore the match after every single over - no matter what type of bowler is about to bowl. By doing this, the game feels less bug-ridden, not too difficult when you are batting, not too easy when you are bowling (and you have followed my bowling tips mentioned previously) and scores generally seem even more realistic. This could probably eliminate the need completely to put the match on Professional level when you are about to face spin and swing bowlers, but remember you need to instead save AND restore after every single over. This suggestion is probably the best solution to all of the other solutions I have suggested so far above to compensate for the game's difficultly or lack thereof. The only drawback is that this method might make batting feel too easy for the player, even on World Class difficulty - in that case, I would suggest to save not after every single over but only when any new type of bowler comes on to bowl.


2) More tips on creating teams and players.

If you want the full initials, last names, styles, and statistics of real-life cricket players included in your game when creating teams and editing players, you may look online. I find Wikipedia and ESPNCricinfo to be the most helpful. The latter not only gives you their real-life batting and bowling averages but also most of their batting strike rates, thus allowing you to determine if you should classify each batsman’s style as defensive, moderate, or aggressive. (These sites are obviously useful when it comes to creating and editing teams and players in any cricket video game).

I also recommend creating a whole new team directory purely for unlimited-over matches and use the default team directory, purely for limited-over matches. So, while the default team directory is INTERNAT or, in Allan Border’s Cricket, SHIELD00, this should be used for limited-over matches only, while I recommend creating a new TEST directory (which shall reflect as TEST0000 in the TEAMS folder outside of the game) for unlimited-over matches. You should create this directory in order to avoid limited-over player averages being used for unlimited-over matches. I certainly would not want my team to play a test match using their ODI averages.

Similarly, you may also create other directories for other types of matches and tournaments, such as COUNTY for the English County Championship or I.P.L. for the Indian Premier League, with all the players’ respective averages for those kind of matches. In my own TEST directory, I have all the current test-playing nation squads, in addition to all-time squads such as the All-Time XI, England XI, Australia XI, South Africa XI, New Zealand XI, and West Indies XI, and a current World XI.


3) How to fix the bug that makes it easy to bowl never-ending dot-balls at the CPU batting team, regardless of the difficulty level you are playing on.

The following is a bug in all the 1994 DOS versions: If you bowl the ball too wide for the CPU batsmen to hit, but not too wide enough for the umpire to call a wide-ball, then you can bowl endless dot-balls, and thus maiden after maiden. The solution here is to simply avoid doing this altogether, as the game sees this as a “cheat”. Do you ever see the CPU bowlers using the same strategy to bowl dot-balls? No, of course not, because “it’s just not cricket”. You always see the CPU bowlers bowling a ball right at the stumps, just missing the stumps, or at a good to full length, while the only wide-balls you see from the CPU bowlers generally come from misdirected bouncers.


4) How to fix the bug that makes it too easy to bowl the CPU batting team out cheaply, regardless of the difficulty level that you are playing on.

Rapidly tapping the Left and Right arrow keys on your keyboard with a fast bowler to make the ball in the bowling-meter in the top-right of the screen go to the absolute maximum will almost always bowl the CPU batting team out cheaply, albeit unfairly, when the balls are pitched at good lengths aimed at the stumps. This is especially true if your DOSBox cycles are higher than 4000. If you watch the CPU bowlers, the ball in the CPU bowling-meter never moves more than three-quarters of the meter, therefore you should never allow the ball in your bowling meter to move more than three-quarters too, otherwise the game will see this as another “cheat”, because the default STROKE.DAT file was simply not designed to handle this properly. Rather wait until your bowler starts running BEFORE you start tapping the Left and Right arrow keys. If you can make this adjustment properly, then you will finally see the batting team making more realistic scores. However, I believe by replacing the default STROKE.DAT file with the later STROKE.DAT file from Shane Warne Cricket 1997 into any of the 1994 DOS versions, this particular bowling bug is probably eliminated altogether - provided you are playing with 4000 cycles in DOSBox.


5) How to get both your batsmen and the CPU batsmen to score at more realistic run-rates in each format.
In unlimited-over matches, change all the default aggressive batsman to moderate, and change all the default moderate batsmen to defensive. In limited-over matches, change all the default moderate batsman to aggressive, and change all the default defensive batsman to moderate. In other words, do not use the aggressive option in unlimited-over matches for batsmen and do not use the defensive option in limited-over matches for batsmen.


6) How to hex-edit the game so that you can play timeless tests. These are test matches that last for an “unlimited” number of days until either one of the teams has won or the match is a tie – there are no draws in timeless test matches. (Timeless “test” matches were mostly played before World War 2)

First start a new 5-day match with 2 innings and unlimited overs, then save the match after the first over as “TIMELESS”. Exit the game back to your desktop. Run your hex-editor and open the file TIMELESS.SAV – you will find this file in your game’s main directory or wherever you installed the game from scratch. (Make sure the columns are displayed in your hex editor under 16 bytes.) Once you open the file, go to the very first offset, 00000000, and under the column OC, you will see the hex number “04”. Change the hex number “04” to the hex number “62”. Now close your hex-editor and save. Now run the game again and restore the “TIMELESS” match. This will change your test match from 5 days to 99 days. Although 99 days is not an unlimited number of days, the longest recorded timeless test-match in history was only 9 playing days, so don’t worry. You could choose a higher number than 99 but I recommend choosing the highest two-digit number, which is 99.

If you want to start a new timeless test-match from scratch, I would simply recommend restoring the new hex-edited “TIMELESS” save, and then exiting back to main menu. Then at the bottom of the screen you will then see that the match settings show the number of days as 99. So now you can simply start a new game normally without changing the Match Settings and you will be playing a timeless test-match without having to repeat the hex-editing process mentioned previously.

Please note that this hex-edit will remove the follow-on rule in the test match. So if you still want to have the follow-on rule, what I suggest is that if you or the CPU batting team is 8 or 9 wickets down and it looks like the batting team might not reach the deficit of 200 runs while batting, save the game just before the team is all out, exit to desktop and open the TIMELESS.SAV file in your hex-editor. Change the hex number “62” back to “04” temporarily. Close your hex-editor and save. This will then give the bowling team (you) the option to enforce the follow-on rule as per normal if the batting team is all out before the deficit. Once the option to enforce the follow-on rule has been offered, save the game as soon as you can. Then exit the game to desktop and go back to your hex editor and change the hex number “04” back to “62” to resume playing a timeless test-match. Close your hex-editor and save. Remember, if you are the batting team and you look like you might not reach the deficit, then be a gentleman (or gentlewoman) and also allow the CPU bowling team the option to enforce the follow-on rule by changing the hex number “62” back to “04” temporarily, too. Once you do this, the CPU will decide for themselves whether to put you in again to bat or not.

I don’t know if this hex-edit also completely removes the chance of rain. I think it does, but if you are playing a timeless test, remember that the rain does not influence the result, because there are no draws in a timeless test, so rain doesn’t matter.

There is at least one other method to create timeless test-matches and probably without inadvertently removing the follow-on rule nor the chance of rain, but I find my method to be the simplest.


7) A brief summary on creating your own classic-match scenarios

Here I will outline the basics of what you need to do to create your own classic matches in the game (like those we saw in the later cricket games developed by Codemasters) Recreating classic matches also involves hex-editing a .SAV file. For hex-editing the .SAV file in more detail, you will need to experiment as it is too intricate to explain in full. Basically, you start any new match with the match settings, player names, styles, and averages based on the type of classic match that occurred in real history, and save the match as soon as you can. Then note the appearance of this .SAV file in your hex-editor. Make a copy of this .SAV file. Then go back to playing the match and once you are more or less half-way into finishing the match, save the match with a DIFFERENT filename than before. Then exit the game, run your hex-editor, and first open the .SAV file that you copied. Then compare this file in your hex-editor with your second .SAV file that you saved with a different name. You may even want to play the game further and make a third .SAV file for more comparative purposes. Once you make the comparisons, you may eventually ascertain the various hex-numbers that contain the number of runs, the number of wickets, the number of overs, the number of playing days, the number of innings, the number of extras, and so on for each match. You can then use and change this information to hex-edit the .SAV file into a whole new classic match-scenario so that when you decide to play a classic match, you simply load the hex-edited .SAV file in which the scenario is already set. Remember to edit the playing teams in the game’s default team-editor BEFORE you hex-edit the .SAV file so that their names, appearances, styles, and averages reflect the time of the classic match in which it was played in real-life. Do not forget to keep a backup of this .SAV file and do not overwrite it.


8) How to change the number of overs per day in unlimited-over matches and test-matches to a “minimum of 90 overs per day” (just like in real life) instead of 60 overs per day, which is the game’s default number of overs per day.

Copy your CRICKET.EXE file into a new folder. Run your hex-editor, then open the COPY of your CRICKET.EXE file. (Once again, make sure the columns are displayed in your hex editor under 16 bytes.) Firstly, go to offset 000016C0, and under column 05, change the hex number “94” to “58”. Secondly, go to offset 000017E0, and under column 08, change the hex number “94” to “58”. Thirdly, go to offset 0000A600, and under column 09, change the hex number “AC” to “E8”. Fourthly, go to offset 0000A610, and under column 07, change the hex number “C0” to “FC”. Fifthly, go to offset 0000A670, and under column 06, change the hex number “94” to “58”. Sixthly, go to offset 0000A6D0, and under column OC, change the hex number “94” to “58”. Lastly, go to the offset 0000A6B0, and under column 05, change the hex number “38” to “92”. Now close your hex-editor and save. I recommend re-naming the copied CRICKET.EXE to CRICKET1.EXE, so you can still use your original CRICKET.EXE if need be. Transfer the CRICKET1.EXE file into your game’s directory, then open DosBox like you normally do and type “CRICKET1” instead of “CRICKET” to run your game. Run “CRICKET1” whenever you want to play unlimited-over matches.

These hex-edits change the starting time of each day in an unlimited-overs match from 11:00am to 10:00am, and the finishing time from 06:00pm to 07:30pm, thus extending each day by 150 minutes in order to accompany more overs. They also change the tea-break from 03:40pm until 04:00pm to 04:40pm until 05:00pm. Note that on some days you still might not get a full 90 overs, but unless it rains on that day you will definitely always get more than 80 overs. Also note that these hex-edits will not remove the chance of rain and the follow-on rule, unlike the timeless test matches.

I noticed that the Sega Genesis and Amiga versions of this game (unlike the DOS version) are already progammed by default with 80+ overs per day in an unlimited-overs match, but I found the Sega Genesis version more difficult to reverse-engineer in general, and the Amiga version, in my opinion, to possess less appealing graphics and more difficult to properly emulate. I also don't like the fact that you cannot choose to play on the exact same type of pitch for an entire test match in the Genesis version; batting on damp pitches is virtually impossible. I also prefer the create-a-player and create-a-squad facility in the DOS version than the other versions.


9) How to make the CPU batting team use a night-watchman

It is rather unfair in the sport of cricket that a human player can opt for a night-watchman while the CPU is unable to do so in the game. Hence when you are playing a test-match or an unlimited-overs match, and the CPU batting team is currently batting at around an hour and a half before the end of the day’s play with little to no wickets down, and you reckon, if you put yourself in the same shoes as the captain of the CPU batting team, that the situation would become necessary to insert a night-watchman at the crease in the event that the bowling team is able to pick up a wicket within the remaining time of the day’s play, (and you believe in fair play) then quickly save your match at around an hour and a half before the end of the day’s play, (you should really save your match after every over anyway) and exit to the main menu. Restore your game. Then choose the 1-player temporarily as the batting team. Once you get to the match-statistics screen, and WITHOUT resuming the actual play, change the batting order so that you now have a lower-order batsman or tail-ender (night-watchman) elevated to come in next. (Any batsman in the lineup averaging the closest to 15 should be sufficient) Then quickly save the game again, and exit to the main menu. Restore your game. Then resume the 1-player normally as the bowling team like you were originally playing. If you pick up a wicket before the end of the day’s play, the CPU batting team will send the night-watchman in next. But importantly, if you do not pick up a wicket before the end of the day’s play, remember at the close of play to change the CPU batting team back to the order it was before you first changed the order so that the CPU does not insert a night-watchman when he is not needed.


10) About declaring in test matches

I am not sure if the CPU batting team is programmed to automatically declare their own innings in a test match when their total score is much higher than the opposing team. I once played a test match where the CPU batting team was way over 250 runs ahead of the score I made in the previous innings, and they still never declared. So once again I would advise you to temporarily take over the role of the CPU batting team when you are the bowling team and sportingly declare on their behalf when it looks like the CPU batting team have plenty of runs to stand a good chance of winning the match.

Note that the CPU bowling team IS programmed to enforce the follow-on rule under normal circumstances by its own accord - I have seen this happen; the only exception is if you are playing timeless test matches as mentioned previously.


11) How to make the limited-overs matches last for just one day as in real life instead of going into the second day. (By default, all limited-over matches in the game except T20s always last more than one day)

Copy your CRICKET.EXE file into a new folder. Run your hex-editor, then open the COPY of your CRICKET.EXE file. (Once again, make sure the columns are displayed in your hex editor under 16 bytes.) Firstly, go to offset 000016C0, and under column 05, change the hex number “94” to “58”. Secondly, go to offset 000017E0, and under column 08, change the hex number “94” to “58”. Thirdly, go to offset 0000A6B0, and under column 05, change the hex number “38” to “82”, and under column 06 of the same offset, change the hex number “04” to “05”. Fourthly, go to offset 0000A5D0, and under column 0F, change the hex number “0C” to “8C”. Fifthly, go to offset 0000A5E0, and under column 00, change the hex number “03” to “05”. Sixthly, go to offset 0000A600, and under column 09, change the hex number “AC” to “96”, and under column 0A of the same offset, change the hex number “03” to “05”. Now close your hex-editor and save. I recommend re-naming the COPY of your CRICKET.EXE to CRICKET2.EXE, so you can still use your original CRICKET.EXE file if need be. Transfer the CRICKET2.EXE file into your game’s directory, then open DosBox like you normally do and type “CRICKET2” instead of “CRICKET” to run your game. Run “CRICKET2” whenever you want to play limited-over matches.

These hex-edits change the starting time of a limited-overs match from 11:00am to 10:00am, and the finishing time from 06:00pm to 11:30pm, thus extending the day in order to fit as much as 120 overs (60 overs per innings) in one day, which is more than enough to accommodate any limited over-match in one day. They also completely remove the lunch-breaks and tea-breaks, which are typically reserved for unlimited-over matches.


12) How to fix the bug that makes it impossible for the batsmen to run for 3 runs after hitting the ball.

You might have noticed that running for 3 runs after hitting the ball is seemingly impossible in the game whether you are batting or the CPU is batting. The reason for this is that all the default fielding setups for each bowler are positioned in such a way that prevents this altogether. You could call this a bug, but if the fielding setups were re-arranged in such a way that there was enough space in the field for the ball to travel long enough, it would be possible for both you and the CPU batting team to run for 3 runs. With a re-adjusted fielding setup I have personally seen this happen, and I definitely prefer a match where running 3 runs is possible.

Note that there are 3 default types of fielding setups in the game, one for fast bowlers, one for spin bowlers, and one for swing bowlers (even though you can actually use each type of fielding setup for any bowler when you change the fielding positions in-game). Re-arrange each of the 3 default types of fielding setups so that it’s possible to occasionally hit 3 runs off any type of bowler. For example, if you put all the fielders on the boundary directly behind the wicketkeeper, the batsmen may easily run for 3 runs when hitting down the ground or to long-on and long-off, but obviously a more realistic fielding setup is more suitable than this one.

I strongly advise to keep a backup of each default fielding position of your team if you intend to save your newly created fielding setups to disk.

In Allan Border’s Cricket version, it is possible, without any re-arrangement, for you to occasionally run 3 runs if and when the ball is hit down the ground passed the bowler just short of the boundary, since the fielders always throw the ball back to the wicketkeeper’s end and never to the bowler’s end. Unfortunately, throwing the ball back only to the wicketkeeper’s end every single time is unrealistic, and while it’s possible for you (the player) to run 3 runs in Allan Border’s Cricket even with the default fielding positions, I have never seen the CPU-controlled batsmen run for 3 runs with the default fielding positions in Allan Border's Cricket.

Having said all this, I have noticed that the batsmen by default can actually run for 3 runs during an overthrow, and I am sure the CPU batsmen can do this as well. However, it would need to be a huge overthrow, and they cannot run for 3 runs by default when there isn't an overthrow.


13) How to solve the bug that sometimes sees the fielders and wicketkeeper standing slightly out of position, the bowler running and unable to follow through with each delivery thus resulting in an unintentional maiden-over, players playing with incorrect names, among other bugs:

When you create a new squad completely from scratch, you will notice that the squad consists of fictional names until you change them. So when you create your wicketkeeper(s), make sure to rename him in the same slot(s) for Catcher and/or Droppit, since these are the 2 wicketkeepers in those slots by default. If your squad has 2 wicketkeepers, then name the wicketkeeper with the higher batting average in the slot for Catcher. Similarly, when you create your 2 opening fast bowlers in your new team, make sure you rename them in the same slots as Sheppard and Bouncer, since these are the 2 opening fast bowlers by default. Use only the remaining slots of Sawyer, Bowler, Beamer, and Fielding for creating any other fast bowlers – in the numerical order of their averages. Similarly, use the slot of Donnison to create your best swing bowler. Likewise, if your squad has any other swing bowlers, make sure you rename them in the same slots for Dreamer, Yorker, and Grabbitt. Do the same with the other slots when creating your leg-spin and off-spin bowlers. If possible, try to match your team’s best 11 players inside the default best 11 slots in the game’s default squad, together with their respective batting and bowling styles. If you can achieve this and put the new players into their respective slots and not just into any slot, you should be able to eliminate various fielding and bowling bugs.

Also, do not edit any players in a match that you are currently playing, otherwise you will see all kinds of bugs like players with incorrect names, and batsmen that are already out coming back into bat in the same innings. Wait until the match is over before editing those players again.

You may have also noticed when you are bowling, that the CPU batting team typically gets out either bowled or run-out only. Very rarely do the CPU batsmen get out LBW or caught out in the outfield when I am the bowling team. This is most notable in the BLC version. Often the CPU batting team has as much as 4 or 5 run-outs in their innings, which is unrealistic most of the time. To solve the problem of too many CPU batting run-outs, ensure that your long-on and long-off fielders for each type of bowler are situated a little deeper towards the boundary (but not at the boundary itself), and then save the fielding setup to disk. (These fielders in the game are responsible for most of the run-outs.)


14) I found out how to replace some of the default sound files with different sound files.

I managed to create a few new sounds in the game. The files containing the original sounds in the game are the .VOC files in the main directory, which you will hear if you installed the game with the Sound Blaster option and not the PC Sound option. If you want to make new sounds, the old .VOC files must be replaced with new .VOC files and they must be the exact same file-size as their original. I was successfully able to replace the BOUNCE.VOC, the CATCH.VOC, the STRIKE2.VOC, and the STRIKE3.VOC sound files with more improved sounds from later cricket games, after minimizing and converting them from their original .OGG format into .VOC file format. I found the other original .VOC files in the game to be more painstaking to replace. What I also do is turn off the music in the game and A-B loop a crowd ambience sound in the background with VLC media player when playing the game. I have attached these new files at the end of my guide.


15) Keeping records of completed matches.

At the start of each new innings, I recommend saving the new innings of the current match under a different .SAV filename than the one you used for the previous innings. By doing so, you will not lose the match statistics from any previous innings played in the match. (The match statistics consist of the scorecard, the batting figures, and the bowling figures.) So once the match is over, you may view the statistics of each innings played and not just the statistics of the last innings played, by simply loading the appropriate filename for that innings. I would also recommend using the screenshot option in DosBox to capture all the match statistics once the match is completed if you do not want to keep the .SAV files.


LEGAL NOTICE

The advice and contents given in my guide is to the best of my knowledge, and as such, you use it at your own risk; I cannot be held responsible for any issues you encounter that do not provide the outcome you desire. This guide is for personal use only. Nobody may publish or copy my guide, any part thereof, nor its contents on another website, nor may they alter or distribute my guide or its contents in any way without my express permission. My silence will not be consent. Action will be taken against those who transgress. You do, however, have my permission only to share the link itself. It took me months of hard work and experimenting in order to write this guide and I doubt I'm going to be paid a single penny for my efforts. So nevertheless, I hope my guide will assist you in rejuvenating and further appreciating this classic cricket game for DOS.

Personal Note
If you have read everything in this guide up to this point, and you would to add anything, please politely let me know.
 

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