                Front Page Sports:  Football Pro '97
                   Demo Version 1.0 Release Notes

Table of Contents

A  Features not available in this Demo version 
        - The Play Editor 
        - The Player Ratings Editor 
        - League Play 
        - Game Length
        - MultiPlayer Play
        - Reduced Animation and Sound quality
B  Getting Started
        - System Requirements
        - What is Virtual Memory?
        - Installation Path
C  Windows 95 Compatibility
        - Installing The Game To Your Hard Drive
        - Running The Game
        - Screen Savers
        - Task Swapping
        - Removing The Game From Your Hard Drive
D  Troubleshooting
        - CD-ROM Troubleshooting
        - SCSI Drivers
        - Problems with Movies (AVIs)
F  Miscellaneous
        - Additional Command Line Options
G  Hardware Manufacturers
H  Additional Support

----------------------------------------------------------------------

A  Features that are unavailable in this Demo 
 
The Play Editor 
 
     Football Pro '97 has a sophisticated Play Editor that allows you to 
create virtually any type of offensive or defensive scheme.  You can 
build customized playbooks by creating all-new plays or by modifying 
some of the over 10,000 plays included with the game.  After you have 
created a play, you can test its effectiveness by practicing it against 
a variety of opposing formations on the Practice Field.  Once the play 
is perfected, the Game Plan Editor allows you to assemble your plays 
into opponent-specific Offensive and Defensive Game Plans.  In addition 
to customizing the plays you can also personalize how the computer will 
use your them by modifying one of the stock coaching profiles.  Each 
profile consists of over 2500 game situations in which you can decide 
what happens. 
 
 
The Player Ratings Editor 
 
     Football Pro '97 includes a Player Ratings Profile Editor that lets 
you reassign player ratings based on your own criteria.  You may edit 
any of the eight ratings for any position and, from the Pro Bowl Screen, 
edit and apply Pro Bowl player selection criteria.  The Formula screen 
allows you to create a formula for the rating, while the Results screen 
allows you to see how players are ranked and to assign new ratings based 
on one of four distribution curves.  When you are satisfied with the 
results, you may save the new ratings to the original league or to a 
newly-created league.  You may also go the View All Ratings screen to 
edit the ratings for individual players.  In addition , you can save any 
formulas you create into a Player Ratings Profile.  You may create 
formulas to establish each individual rating for each position.  For 
example,  you may create a QB strength formula, a Defensive End agility 
formula and so forth. 
 
League Play 
 
     Football Pro '97 offers you the choice of competing in the default 
NFLPI 1996 (30 teams) league or building one or more new leagues of your 
own.  The full version includes six career leagues filled with players 
who are members of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA).  In addition to 
the NFLPA leagues there are several other fictional player leagues of 
varying sizes (8,10,12,18,28).  Over the course of a season players and 
teams will accumulate statistics in over 1500 available categories.  At 
the end of a season players will age and possibly retire.  When starting 
a new season you have the option of dumping all of the players into a 
common draft pool.  Each team can then draft players one at a time to 
fill out their rosters.  A Free agent draft is also available at the 
beginning of each season.  After the draft your players are run through 
training camp where you can allocate training time for each position.  
You might want your running backs spending training time on wind sprints 
to increase their speed while having the Defensive backs spend time 
watching game films to increase their intelligence.  It is all up to you 
take your team to the championship. 
 
 
Game Length 
 
     This demo version allows you one quarter of play (5-15 
minutes).  At the end of the first quarter it will return you back to 
main menu. 

MultiPlayer Play

     MultiPlayer play has been disabled in the demo.  The full version of 
Football Pro '97 supports head to head games over a LAN or modem.  
Internet play is also available over the Sierra Internet Gaming System.

Reduced Animation and Sound Quality

     The full version of Football Pro '97 offers 16 angles of animation
rotation and 22Khz sounds.  This demo limits the animation to 8 angles of
rotation and 11Khz sounds.


----------------------------------------------------------------------

B  GETTING STARTED

System Requirements

Football Pro `97 requires the following minimum machine configuration:

   Required:

   486 DX2 66MHz or better processor
   SVGA color monitor
   VESA Local Bus video card with at least 1MB RAM
   Windows '95
   Mouse
   Double Speed CD-ROM drive
   Hard Drive with:
       30 MB free (Minimum Install)
      124 MB free (Partial Install)
      270 MB free (Full Install)
   8 MB RAM
   12 MB Virtual Memory and 30 MB disk space free (after install) 
      during game play. 

   Recommended:

   Pentium processor
   16 MB RAM
   Quad Speed CD-ROM drive
   One or two joysticks
   Sound Blaster or 100% Sound Blaster compatible sound card.

What is Virtual Memory?

     Virtual memory is a method that uses disk space to supplement 
your machine's RAM.  When Football Pro `97 is running, it creates a 
file on your hard drive (known as a swap file) which is used to store 
information when there is not enough available RAM.  The size of the 
swap file is equal to the virtual memory requirement (12 MB) minus the 
amount of available RAM.   Systems with more RAM will have smaller 
swap files created.  The swap file is deleted automatically when you 
quit Football Pro `97.

     Due to the swap file requirements of Windows 95, you will need at 
least 30 MB of free disk space on the drive where your swap file 
resides, or Football Pro '97 will get errors allocating memory.

Installation Path

     Football Pro '97 MUST be installed in a directory named 
\SIERRA\FBPRO97 for all features to function properly.  It is not 
important on which physical drive (C,D etc.) it is installed, but it 
MUST be installed off the drive's root directory in \SIERRA\FBPRO97.

Examples:
     C:\SIERRA\FBPRO97                     (good)
     D:\SIERRA\FBPRO97                     (good)

     C:\FBPRO97                            (bad)
     C:\FOOTBALL                           (bad)
     C:\GAMES\SIERRA\FBPRO97               (bad)

Should you install Football Pro '97 to a directory other than 
\SIERRA\FOOTBALL you may have problems when using custom data (game 
plans, plays, profiles, etc.) or when playing multiplayer games.

     In addition, Football Pro '97 cannot use game plans that include 
plays saved to floppy disks, or stored in the EXTRA directory on the 
CD.  These plays should be kept in the \SIERRA\FBPRO97\CUSTOM 
directory.

To use the plays in the EXTRA directory, copy the plays you want 
into your \SIERRA\FBPRO97\CUSTOM directory.  With Win95 Explorer,
select these files and right click to bring up the short menu.  
Pick "Properties" and toggle the "read only" file attribute box
to the off setting.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------

C  WINDOWS 95 COMPATIBILITY

Installing the game to your hard drive

     Football Pro `97 supports the Windows 95 Autoplay feature. Follow 
these steps to install and run the game under Windows 95:

   1)  Start Windows 95.
   2)  Insert the Football Pro `97 CD into your CD-ROM drive.
   3)  If the game has not yet been installed, you will be asked if 
       you wish to install it.  To proceed with the installation, 
       click "Yes".
   4)  Follow the on-screen directions to complete the installation 
       process.

     Note:  If Autoplay has been disabled on your system you will need 
to double click on the CD-ROM icon in your MY COMPUTER folder.

Running The Game

     Football Pro `97 is designed to start automatically when you 
insert the CD-ROM into your CD drive.  When you insert the CD, you 
will be asked if you want to start the game; click on "yes" to run the 
game.

     Note:  If Autoplay has been disabled on your system you will need 
to double click on the CD-ROM icon in your MY COMPUTER folder.

     You may also start the game by selecting it from your Start Menu 
under the SIERRA group.  If you wish to launch the game using some of 
the optional command line parameters, create a shortcut for HIKE.EXE 
and edit the properties to include the options you want.  

Screen Savers

     Some screen saver programs may interrupt Football Pro `97 and 
prevent it from continuing afterwards.  We HIGHLY recommend that you 
do NOT use any screen saver programs while playing Football Pro `97.  
This includes the Windows 95 screen savers.

Task Swapping

     We recommend that you quit all other applications prior to 
running Football Pro `97, or you may experience game lock-ups or other 
problems. When Windows 95 is focused on Football Pro '97, it will not 
allow sounds for other applications to play.  Football Pro '97 will 
perform best if no other applications are open in Windows 95.


Removing The Game From Your Hard Drive

     To remove the game from your hard drive, open the Sierra folder 
in the Windows 95 Start Menu, Select "Setup & Uninstall".  This will 
start the Sierra Setup program that will allow you to uninstall any 
Sierra product.  Select Uninstall from the main menu.  Choose FPS: 
Football Pro '97 from the list.  All of the original Football Pro `97 
program files will be removed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

D  TROUBLESHOOTING

CD-ROM Troubleshooting

     If you are experiencing  "CDR-101 Read errors" or are 
experiencing random lock-ups, then  make sure you are using the latest 
CD-ROM drivers and the correct  version of MSCDEX.EXE for your 
revision of MS-DOS.  To verify that you are using the correct device 
drivers in your CONFIG.SYS file, contact your CD-ROM drive 
manufacturer.  To verify that you are using the latest version of 
MSCDEX.EXE, please examine the chart below:

   MS-DOS 5.0 Users....................Use MSCDEX 2.21 or above
   MS-DOS 6.0 Users....................Use MSCDEX 2.22 or above
   MS-DOS 6.20-6.22 Users..............Use MSCDEX 2.23 or above
   Windows 95. ........................Use MSCDEX 2.95 or above

     NOTE - MSCDEX 2.22 is included with MS-DOS 6.0, and MSCDEX 2.23 
is included with MS-DOS 6.20-6.22.  To update from an older version of 
MSCDEX, simply copy the updated file from the DOS directory into the 
directory where you are loading MSCDEX.  For more information, please 
refer to your CD-ROM hardware manual or contact your CD-ROM drive 
manufacturer.

SCSI Drivers

     If your system is equipped with a SCSI hard drive, you will need 
to make sure that you are loading the appropriate SCSI driver in your 
CONFIG.SYS file.  For additional information or instructions on how to 
accomplish this task, please refer to your hard drive or SCSI 
controller documentation or manufacturer.

Problems with Movies (AVIs)

     Some users may see vertical black and white lines and a message
"Video not available" when the program tries to play movies (AVIs).  
This indicates that the Windows95 Media Player is not properly 
installed.  (This player is normally installed with Windows 95, but 
you may have chosen not to install it to save disk space.)  This does 
not affect game play, but you may correct the problem by installing 
the Media Player from your Windows 95 disks.  (For information on 
installing Windows 95 components, consult your Windows 95 
documentation.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

F  MISCELLANEOUS

Additional Command Line Options
   
   Option      Effect

     -l        Save a log of all play-by-play information.  A weeks 
               worth of games will be appended to a single file if you 
               are simulating league games.  The PLAY.LOG file will be 
               deleted at the start of a new weeks worth of games.
     -f        Print all output to a text file called PRINT.OUT.  You 
               can view the file with any ASCII text editor.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

G  HARDWARE MANUFACTURERS

We have included a list on how to contact specific hardware 
manufacturers.  Please have as much information about your computer 
ready before calling any of these numbers.

-------------------------
SOUND CARD MANUFACTURERS:
-------------------------

Advanced Gravis
United States:
(206) 881-6945 T/S
(604) 431-7553 BBS

Aztech
United States:
(800) 886-8879 T/S
(510) 623-8933 BBS
United Kingdom:
0191 5202598 TEL

Cardinal
United States:
(717) 293-3124 T/S
(717) 293-3074 BBS
United Kingdom:
01522 542519 TEL

Creative Labs
United States:
(408) 428-6622 T/S
(408) 428-6660 BBS
United Kingdom:
01734 344322 TEL
01734 320300 FAX

Diamond
United States:
(408) 325-7100 T/S
(408) 325-7175 BBS

Logitech
United States:
(510) 795-8100 T/S
(510) 795-0408 BBS

Microsoft
United States:
(206) 637-7096 T/S
(206) 936-4082 BBS
(206) 936-6735 BBS
United Kingdom:
01734 271000 TEL
01734 270002 FAX

Orchid
United Kingdom:
01256 4798898 TEL
01256 64222 FAX

Reveal
United States:
(800) 473-8325 T/S
(818) 713-8188 BBS
United Kingdom:
0181 8457400 TEL
0181 8457411 FAX

Roland US
United States:
(213) 685-5141 T/S

Turtle Beach
United States:
(717) 767-0200 T/S
(717) 845-4835 BBS

-----------------------
JOYSTICK MANUFACTURERS:
-----------------------

Advanced Gravis
United States:
(604) 434-1807 T/S
(604) 431-7553 BBS
United Kingdom
COMPUSERVE BBS

CH Products
United States:
(619) 598-2518 T/S
(619) 598-3224 BBS

Kraft
United States:
(619) 724-7146 T/S

Logitech
United States:
(510) 795-8100 T/S
(510) 795-0408 BBS

ThrustMaster
United States:
(503) 639-3200 T/S


-------------------------
VIDEO CARD MANUFACTURERS:
-------------------------

Advanced Integration Research
United States:
408-428-0800  T/S
408-428-1735  BBS

Advanced Micro Technology
United States:
909-598-6120  T/S
909-594-5770  BBS

Alpha Systems Lab
United States:
800-576-4275  T/S

Altech International
United States:
800-882-8194  T/S
408-946-2227  BBS

Artist Graphics Company
United States:
800-627-8478  T/S
612-631-7664  BBS

ATI Technologies
United States:
905-882-2626  T/S
905-764-9404  BBS
United Kingdom:
01753 631121 TEL
01753 631106 FAX

Atlaz Intl., Limited
United States:
516-239-1854  T/S

Boca
United States:
407-241-8088  T/S
407-241-1601  BBS

Cache Computers, Inc.
United States:
510-226-9922  T/S
510-226-7486  BBS

Cardinal
United States:
717-293-3124  T/S
717-293-3074  BBS

Celerite Graphics, Inc.
United States:
510-226-6390  T/S
510-226-7851  BBS

Cirrus Logic
United States:
408-435-8808  T/S
510-440-9080  BBS

Colorgraphic Communication
United States:
404-455-3921  T/S
404-452-8238  BBS

Cornerstone Technology
United States:
800-562-2552 x306  T/S
408-435-8943  BBS

CSS Laboratories, Inc.
United States:
800-966-2771  T/S
714-852-9231  BBS

Diamond 
United States:
408-325-7100  T/S
408-325-7080  BBS (up to 2400bps)
408-325-7175  BBS (above 2400bps)

Edge Technology, Inc.
United States:
800-438-3343  T/S

ELSA America, Inc.
United States:
800-272-3572  T/S
415-588-6286  BBS

Focus Information Systems, Inc.
United States:
510-657-4586  T/S
510-657-9451  BBS

Genoa
United States:
408-432-8324  T/S
408-943-1231  BBS

Headland (Video Seven)
United States:
800-553-1850  T/S
415-656-0503  BBS

Hercules Technology
United States:
510-623-6050  T/S
510-623-7034  BBS (V32)
510-623-7449  BBS (v32b)

Identity Systems Technology
United States:
800-723-8324  T/S
214-705-7213  BBS

IOcomm Intl., Corp.
United States:
800-998-8919  T/S

Liberty Electronics USA
United States:
800-497-8324  T/S

Matrox Electronics Systems Limited
United States:
800-462-8769  T/S
514-685-6008  BBS
United Kingdom:
01793 614002 TEL
01793 614336 FAX

Metheus Corporation
United States:
503-690-1550  T/S
503-690-1559  BBS

MicroStep, Inc.
United States:
818-336-8991  T/S
818-961-9992  BBS

Mirage Computer Systems
United States:
310-440-1460  T/S

Miro
United Kingdom:
01223 301102 TEL

National Design, Inc.
United States:
512-329-5055  T/S
512-329-6327  BBS

Number Nine Computer Corporation
United States:
617-674-0009  T/S
617-862-7502  BBS

Nth Graphics
United States:
800-624-7552  T/S
512-832-1964  BBS

Oak Technology
United States:
408-737-0888  T/S
408-524-9014  BBS

Orchid
United States:
510-683-0323  T/S
510-683-0327  BBS
United Kingdom:
01256 4798898 TEL
01256 64222 FAX

Paradise
United States:
800-832-4778  T/S
415-968-1834  BBS

Sigma Designs
United States:
510-770-0100  T/S
510-770-0111  BBS

SixGraph Computing, Limited
800-561-2892  T/S
514-336-4169  BBS
STB
United States:
214-234-8750  T/S
214-437-9615  BBS
United Kingdom:
01344 874744 TEL
01344 874546 FAX 

SuperMac Technology, Inc.
United States:
408-245-0646  T/S
408-773-4500  BBS

Swan Technologies, Inc.
United States:
800-468-7926  T/S
814-237-6143  BBS

Trident
United States:
415-691-9211  T/S
415-691-1016  BBS
United Kingdom:
01273 670570 TEL
01273 670666 FAX

Video Logic, Inc.
United States:
617-494-0530  T/S
617-494-4960  BBS
United Kingdom:
01923 260511 TEL
01923 268969 FAX

Video Seven (Headland)
United States:
800-553-1850  T/S
415-656-0503  BBS

VidTech Microsystems, Inc.
United States:
800-752-8033  T/S
612-780-3564  BBS

Willow
United States:
718-402-9500  T/S

----------------------------------------------------------------------

H  ADDITIONAL SUPPORT

Technical Support
24 Hour Automated Technical Support Line (206) 644-4343

Technical Support - United States
Sierra On-Line                Phone: (206) 644-4343
Technical Support             Hours: 8:15 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. PST,
P.O. Box 85006                       Monday-Friday
Bellevue, WA 98015-8506       FAX:   (206) 644-7697

Technical Support - United Kingdom
Sierra On-Line Limited        Phone: (0118) 920-9111
2 Beacontree Plaza            (Monday through Friday, 9:00AM-5:00PM)
Gillette Way                  Fax: (0118) 987-5603
Reading, Berkshire
RG2 0BS  United Kingdom

Support Technique - France
Parc Tertiaire de Meudon      Phone: (01) 46-01-46-50
Immeuble "Le Newton"          (7 jours sur 7 de 9h à 21h)
25 rue Jeanne Braconnier      Fax:   (01) 46-30-00-65
92366 Meudon La Forêt Cedex
France

Technical Support - Germany
Sierra Coktel Deutschland     Phone:  (+49) 0 - 6103 - 99 40 40 
Robert-Bosch-Str. 32          (Montag bis Freitag von 9 - 19h)
D-63303 Dreieich              Fax:    (+49) 0 - 6103 - 99 40 35
Germany                       Mailbox (+49) 0 - 6103 - 99 40 41

Servicio Tecnico - Spain
Coktel Educative Multimedia   Tel: (34)-1-764-39-69 
C/ Tomas Redondo, 1-1° F      (lunes a viernes de 9h30 a 14h y de 
Edificio Luarca                 15h a 18h30)
28033 Madrid                  Fax: (34)-1-381-08-39
Spain

Technical Support - Italy
Contact your local distributor or vendor

ON-LINE SUPPORT
CompuServe:       GO SIERRA
America Online:   Keyword Sierra
Internet USA:     http://www.sierra.com
Internet UK:      http://www.sierra-online.co.uk
Internet France:  To Be Announced
Internet Germany: To Be Announced

Direct Sales Information
U.S. Direct Sales
Sierra Direct                 PHONE:
7100 W. Center Rd STE 301     Main: (800) 757-7707
Omaha NE 68106                Hours: 7AM to 11PM CST, Mon-Sat; 
                                     8AM to 9PM CST, Sundays

Vente par correspondence - France
Parc Tertiaire de Meudon             Phone: (01) 46-01-48-53 
Immeuble "Le Newton"                 (lundi au vendredi de 9h à 18h)
25 rue Jeanne Braconnier             Fax:   (01) 46-30-00-65
92366 Meudon La Forêt Cedex
France

On-Line Sales
CompuServe:     GO SI (CServe Mall)
America Online: Keyword SIERRA
INTERNET        http://www.sierra.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------

(c)Copyright 1996, Sierra On-Line, Inc.

Front Page Sports and Front Page Sports: Football Pro are registered 
trademarks of Sierra On-Line, Inc.

MS-DOS and Windows 95 are registered trademarks of Microsoft 
Corporation.

Sound Blaster and Sound Blaster Pro are registered trademarks of 
Creative Labs, Inc.

Pro Audio Spectrum is a registered trademark of Media Vision, Inc.

Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

SIERRA ON-LINE, INC. DOES NOT WARRANTY OR PROMISE THAT THE
INFORMATION HEREIN WILL WORK WITH ANY OR ALL COMPUTER SYSTEMS.
SIERRA DOES NOT ASSUME ANY LIABILITY, EITHER INCIDENTAL OR 
CONSEQUENTIAL, FOR THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN,
INCLUDING ANY AND ALL DAMAGE TO OR LOST USE OF COMPUTER
HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE PRODUCTS, LOSS OF WARRANTIES, OR LOST
DATA BY THE CUSTUOMER OR ANY THIRD PARTY.  NO ORAL OR WRITTEN
INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY SIERRA, IT'S EMPLOYEES,
DISTRIBUTORS, DEALER OR AGENTS SHALL CHANGE THE RESTRICTION
OF LIABILITY OR CREATE ANY NEW WARRANTIES.  IN NO CASE SHALL
SIERRA'S LIABILITY EXCEED THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE SIERRA
SOFTWARE PRODUCT.
