CRICKET WORLD CUP 99 UNOFFICIAL MINI-FAQ VERSION 1.0515 Updates available at http://www.rocknet.net.au/~nwest --- TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 1.1 Why do a Mini-FAQ? 1.2 What have you done before? 1.3 Versions 1.4 Disclaimer/Copyright 1.5 Contributors 1.6 Contact Information 2. Game Information 2.1 What is Cricket World Cup 99? 2.2 Who developed CWC? 2.3 So what happened to Beam? 2.4 Is it the sequel to Cricket 97? 2.5 What are the minimum requirements? 2.6 Can I play over the Internet? 3. General Questions 3.1 I thought [insert southpaw here] was a left-hander! 3.2 Why does the weather or pitch conditions never change? 3.3 Why can I bowl no-balls and wides? 3.4 So which is better, Shane Warne Cricket, or CWC? 3.5 Where can I buy the game? How much does it cost? 3.6 Who is on the cover of the box? 3.7 Where did they hide the test match function? 3.8 Who are the commentators? 3.9 Whose going to win the World Cup? 3.10 Which cricket grounds can you play on? 3.11 The player models look just like Adam & Ben Hollioake! 3.12 What are the live updated rosters? 3.13 When is it coming out on the PlayStation? 3.14 How do I cheat? 3.15 Is there a practice facility? 3.16 Where can I download the demo? 3.17 What are some good sites to go to? 4. The End 4.1 Coming Up Next --- 1. INTRODUCTION === 1.1 Why do a CWC99 FAQ? === Well for starters, there are a lot of questions cricket fans have out there about CWC99. So I thought, why not make a mini-faq answering as many questions as possible, hopefully destroying all false rumours. Plus, it makes my web counter go up! =) It is a bit small at the moment because I do not actually have a copy of the game. But don't worry, I will soon, so I can add my own bits without having to ask others. If it becomes large enough, I will name it a FAQ, and not a mini one. === 1.2 What have you done before? === This is my second FAQ. The other one I have done is for Need For Speed 3: Hot Pursuit. As I know of, it was the only one for the PC version. === 1.3 Versions === This is the first version of the CWC99 FAQ. I have made up the version number using the following guidelines (1.0515 as an example) - 1 - The year it was written (1999 is 1, 2000 is 2, 2001 is 3 etc.) .05 - The month it was written in (eg. 05 is May) 15 - The date of the month it was written on. === 1.4 Disclaimer/Copyright === (Hope I get this right) Cricket World Cup 99 and CWC99 are copyright of EA Sports. All other trademarks are copyright of their respective owners. All rights reserved. If someone knows the correct way to show copyright please tell me. Information in this FAQ is correct to the best of my knowledge. However, errors occur. If you find something wrong in here, or have something to add, please contact me at the address below. This FAQ is the property of Nathan West. You may freely distribute this FAQ as long as the content is not changed. Feel free to include this FAQ on your website, although your URL would be nice. (C) 1999. === 1.5 Contributors === Nathan West (west_nathan@hotmail.com) - FAQ Author And thats it! === 1.6 Contact Information === You can contact me at west_nathan@hotmail.com . Try to use the subject CWC99, as I am still getting email about my NFS3 FAQ. Please email me first before contacting any of the contributors. --- 2. GAME INFORMATION === 2.1 What is Cricket World Cup 99? === Cricket World Cup 99 (CWC99 or CWC) is the official game for the World Cup. No, not the soccer one, but the cricket edition. The countries Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya and Scotland all make their way to England (also playing) to hit balls around an oval with sticks. === 2.2 Who developed CWC? === CWC is a joint venture between EA Sports Australia, and Creative Assembly. Both were involved in the making of AFL 99, a game based on the sport called Australian Football League. Creative Assembly are based in England, which would have made things a tad difficult because of the distance. === 2.3 So what happened to Beam? === Beam were the makers of Cricket 96 & 97 (along with the other hybrids). I don't have the official word why they were not given the rights. But my personal guess is that EA were not satisfied with their efforts in C97. === 2.4 Is it the sequel to Cricket 97? === Thankfully, no. The only similarities between the two are - a) produced by EA Sports b) Ritchie Benaud =) === 2.5 What are the minimum requirements? === This is from the box - With Graphics Accelerator - P200, 32Mb RAM, 8x CD ROM Without Graphics Accelerator - P166, 32 Mb RAM, 4x CD ROM Hard Drive Space - 140 Mb Both Direct3D and Glide are supported by CWC. I have not heard of any problems with the main accelerators (Riva TNT 1/2, Voodoo 1/2/3). Performance with other cards is unknown. === 2.6 Can I play over the Internet? === In one word, No. It was promised before the game was released that you would be able to play modem to modem, network, and Internet play on the EA server. However, it seems that no multiplayer facilities have been built into the game. There may be a patch to allow this, although it may be difficult to introduce if it was never in the game to start off with. Can someone confirm the above please? --- 3. GENERAL QUESTIONS === 3.1 I thought [insert southpaw here] was a left-hander! === Well they are. However, EA released the game with no left-handers, either bowlers or batters. They were aware of the "bug" before its release, but time restraints probably caused it to be left out. EA will release a patch soon after its release to allow left-handers. But, as a right-hander, I couldn't care less! =) === 3.2 Why do the weather or pitch conditions never change? === Because they were seveal of the extras left out of the game. Although initially promised, it was not included. EA may release a patch for this as well, but for the moment, you will probably have to put up with the same conditions. (Which should be wet, wet, wet for England) === 3.3 Why can I bowl no-balls and wides? === Yes, a common mistake. You have actually put the CWC CD in your drive instead of the Shane Warne Cricket CD. Now, instead of bowling perfect balls, you can actually bowl it towards the square-leg umpire! Also included in CWC - stumpings, and walking down the pitch to hit the ball. === 3.4 So which is better, Shane Warne Cricket, or CWC? === Well, I can't really answer that. I have only played the SWC demo, and thats it. From reading other players responses, it seems to be about 50/50. Personally, the ground textures in the demo (on my RIVA TNT) kept on disappearing. I will have a definite answer once I buy the game. === 3.5 Where can I buy the game? How much does it cost? === By the time you read this, it should be available in stores (at least in Aust. and NZ). It was released in NZ on the 7th, before any other country. All explanations why this is can be kindly emailed to me. If you live in a country where they don't sell CWC (such as the US), you can order it at http://www.eastore.ea.com . Although I have not seen any pricing, I have read from an unofficial source that it only costs $50. Not sure which country though. I was expecting about $AUS69.95, the price most EA Sports games get. === 3.6 Who is on the cover of the box? === As I know of, there are two different players, depending on where you buy the game. Here is the most up to date list. I am pretty sure there is a different one for England. If you know any more, please contact me. New Zealand - Stephen Fleming (sp?) Australia - Ricky Ponting England - ??? === 3.7 Where did they hide the test match function? === They hid it in their original version. Remember, there are no test matches in the World Cup. It would be wrong to include such a feature when it is not possible in real life. Maybe when they release the next version they will have a test match function. === 3.8 Who are the commentators? === The commentators are Richie Benaud and David Gower. Benaud is the king of cricket commentators, and has featured in previous EA games. Gower has been described as a bit too boring in this game though, so don't get too excited when he starts talking. === 3.9 Whose going to win the World Cup? === Why, Australia of course. Apart from being an Aussie, there is no bias what so ever. I will probably have to add another question when the series is over though. === 3.10 Which cricket grounds can you play on? === In total, there are 12 stadia. This was increased from the original 6 that was announced at the start. The grounds included are (not a complete list) - * The Oval * Bristol * Amsterdam * Dublin * Chelmsford * Lords * Headingly * Edgbaston * Trent Bridge * Essex === 3.11 The player models look just like Adam & Ben Hollioake! === Well spotted! Adam and Ben were plasted with golf balls and made by EA to dance around for the motion capture sessions. As reported by the EA Sports website - "England team members Adam Hollioake, and his brother Ben Hollioake, were used in extensive motion capture sessions, with over 550 accurate moves recreated in this game. Dynamic batting, fielding, and bowling actions, as well as the many of the expressions of emotion that characterise the highly charged emotions of the final overs of a tense international one-day clash, help to immerse the user into the pressure cooker world of international cricket." Sounds rather exciting, doesn't it? === 3.12 What are the live updated rosters? === The live updated rosters were planned by EA to allow players to download teams, injuries, current form, news and weather conditions to provide a realistic playing experience. Once downloaded, they would change the way games were played, either in single-player or multiplayer. I have no knowledge whether this feature is still available. Of course, the weather conditions would be useless, and there is no multiplayer facility. === 3.13 When is it coming out on the PlayStation? === It isn't. To start off with, EA had planned to release CWC on both the PC and Playstation, roughly about the same time. Once the game was restarted due to reasons unknown by me, all time was spent on developing the PC version. There was no time to create a Playstation version. However, I remember reading some time ago that EA were going to release a special version on the PSX, not related to the World Cup, some months after the release of CWC. === 3.14 How do I cheat? === I do not know any cheats for CWC, and there may not be any. I would like a "hit a six every ball" option though. If you manage to find any, don't forget to tell me. === 3.15 Is there a practice facility? === Yep. EA Sports have provided a set of virtual cricket nets which allow you to practise your bowling and batting. Some EA bashers have said that this is the best part of the game. === 3.16 Where can I download the demo? === No demo has been released at the time of writing. A demo has been planned, and will be available sometime after the release of the full version. Keep an eye on the download section at www.easports.com.au . === 3.17 What are some good sites to go to? === Cricket isn't the most popular game in the world. So there aren't that many sites around. Here a few to choose from - * Caught-Behind (http://cricket.ga-sports.com) The best site to get up-to-date news on CWC and SWC. Has a forum (or message board) which allows you to ask questions to fellow players. With the release of CWC, this site will grow, and already has several downloads. * Cricket Games .com (http://www.cricketgames.com) Features every single cricket game known to man. Contains less information about CWC due to the number of other games included at the site. If you don't like CWC and want to find another game, then this is the place to go. * EA Sports Australia (http://www.easports.com.au) The home page of EA Sports Australia (obviously). Not updated as often as hoped, but has improved since the game went gold. Find the official word on patches and other information here. Don't worry if it takes a while to load the front page, they seem to like Java. * EA Sports Europe - CWC99 (http://www.ea-europe.com/cricket99) The European official site for CWC99. Brand new, but will probably include the same information as the Aussie site. However, always look here after the Aussie site for further news. --- 4. THE END === 4.1 Coming Up Next === In the next version, there will probably be a few error fixing, plus some extra information. Spelling mistakes will be corrected. My hit counter will increase. Once I get the game, then the content will grow rapidly. All donations are gratefully accepted.