Baseball Stars 2 (Nintendo) FAQ
Version 1.31
Aaron Kuhn (email: [myfirstname][mylastname]@yahoo.com)
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial License. To view a copy of this license,
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=================
Table of Contents
=================
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Play Controls
-> 2.1 Offense
-> 2.1.1 Batting
-> 2.1.2 Running
-> 2.2 Defense
-> 2.2.1 Pitching Mode
-> 2.2.2 Fielding Mode
3.0 What's New?
-> 3.1 Main Menu
-> 3.1.2 View Team Menu
-> 3.2 Select a Stadium
-> 3.3 In-Game Pitching Menu
-> 3.3.1 Formations
-> 3.4 In-Game Batting Menu
-> 3.5 Bunting
-> 3.6 Other Graphics
4.0 What's Gone?
-> 4.1 Rename Team/Select Team Logo
-> 4.2 Rename Player
-> 4.3 Male/Female Players
5.0 Game Genie Codes
6.0 Notes/Savegame Hacking
7.0 Thanks
================
1.0 Introduction
================
Baseball Stars 2 from Romstar, is the follow-up game to the original Baseball
Stars by SNK. While both these titles have appeared in some form on Neo-Geo,
some arcade systems, and Neo-Geo Pocket Color, this FAQ is NES Version
specific.
Contributions, corrections and comments to this FAQ are welcome and should be
emailed to the spam-proofed email address at the beginning of this file.
You will of course be credited.
Experienced Baseball Stars 1 players can skip directly to section 3 and 4 for
Gameplay Changes new to Baseball Stars 2. Novices will want to read section 2
for basic gameplay controls.
=================
2.0 Play Controls
=================
This section examines the basic playcontrols of the Baseball Stars 2 control
scheme.
-----------
2.1 Offense
-----------
2.1.1 Batting
Left/Right/Up/Down: Repositions your batter around in the batting box
Hold A Button: Swings Bat.
Hold Down + Hold A Button : Bunt
This will aim your bunt towards second base by default. You may release the
"down" directional once you have pressed and held the A button.
You can move left/right in the batters box while in the bunting position.
Press up to bunt towards third base.
Press down to bunt towards first base.
2.1.2 Running
Directional + B Button: Runs toward next base. Batters on base will
automatically run towards the next base when wall is hit.
Directional + A Button: Runs back to previous base. For use in popup
fly/tagup situations and when you just don't think you'll make it to the base
without getting thrown out.
Base Stealing:
Step 1 - Directional + B (while pitcher has ball): Takes a lead off the base.
Step 2 - Directional + B (with lead while ball in motion): Runner attempts
to steal base.
Running Directionals -
Down: Homeplate
Up: Second Base
Left: Third Base
Right: First Base
-----------
2.2 Defense
-----------
2.2.1 Pitching Mode:
B Button: Cancels out of pitching mode and switches to fielding mode for
picking off base stealers
A Button: Throws pitch
A Button + Up: Throws a sinking. Ball "sinks" before it reaches batter.
Success of ball sinking depends on your pitchers "Drop" statistic.
A Button + Down: Throws a fastball. Ball travels at a greater velocity towards
batter. Speed of pitch depends on pitchers "Speed" statistic.
A Button + Left: Throws a curveball to the left. Ball archs to the left as it
travels towards batter. Severity of curve/control depends on pitchers
"L Curve" statistic.
A Button + Right: Throws a curveball to the right. Ball archs to the right as
it travels towards batter. Severity of curve/control depends on pitchers
"R Curve" statistic.
You can combine Up/Down Motions with a Left/Right motion to create such
pitches as a Right Curve Fastball, Left Curve Sinker etc.
2.2.2 Fielding Mode:
Left/Right/Up/Down: Moves your fielder(s) around on the field.
Directional + A Button: Throws ball towards respective base. If you don't
specify a directional it defaults to first base.
Directional + B Button: Runs towards respective base. If you don't specify a
directional it defaults to first base.
Fielding Directionals -
Down: Homeplate
Up: Second Base
Left: Third Base
Right: First BAse
Left or Right + B Button (Infielders Only): Performs a diving catch to your
left or right. Good for snagging line-drive balls.
Up + B Button (Infielders Only): Performs a jumping catch. Good for snagging
balls that may be flying over your head.
Up + A Button while against fence (Outfielders Only): Climbs the outfield
fence to catch what may be a homerun ball. Requires precise timing. Climb the
fence too soon and your outfielder will fall over it. Climb it too late and
he won't have time to scale the wall.
===============
3.0 What's New?
===============
This section details changes to the game since the original Baseball Stars.
-------------
3.1 Main Menu
-------------
The Main Menu has stayed relatively the same. All features/menu options will
relatively take you where you expect from the original Baseball Stars.
Two menu options have undergone renaming. They Are:
Hire Player -> Acquire Player
Fire Player -> Release Player
The "Acquire" Player now has a slightly different look, but has picked up
no new options.
"Release" Player functions in much the same manner, but displays a different
graphic when a player is released.
3.1.2 View team Menu
View team Menu sports an improved layout with screen split into
Fielders/Pitchers/Pinch Hitters. You also get a facial picture of your player.
--------------------
3.2 Select a Stadium
--------------------
When playing a game, you now get a choice of four stadiums to play in.
These stadiums are pretty self descriptive but here's an overview of their
apperances:
Romstar Stadium - Your typical American Ballpark. Green grass all around the
field.
City Stadium - An inner-city baseball stadium. Similar to Camden Yards in
Baltimore. Green grass in the outfield, dirt inner playing field.
Country Stadium - Old-time country baseball field. The kind of thing that
was probably surrounded by a cornfield. Dirt playing field all around.
Dome Stadium - Well... it's a dome. Much like the Toronto Skydome. Field
seems to be Astroturf judging by the color.
In theory, the different playing surfaces of these stadiums should affect the
bounce of the ball and attendance figures. In reality, I cannot discern any
difference between the four stadiums other then color scheme. The left and
right field walls are 328 feet out, and the center field wall seems to be 400
feet in each of them. If you can spot some subtle differences in the way the
game plays in each one - let me know.
-------------------------
3.3 In-Game Pitching Menu
-------------------------
Old Baseball Stars start menu when pitching:
Relief Pitcher
change Fielder
Your new Baseball Stars 2 Menu:
Relief Pitcher - Calls in a relief pitcher. New improvements on this screen
let you flip between players in your bullpen and watch them throw fastballs.
ERA is also displayed.
Change Fielder - Swaps two players positions on the field. For instance, you
can swap your first baseman into right field and bring the right fielder into
first base.
Change Player - Like Change Fielder, but replaces a player with someone from
the bench. Select your player currently in the field, and then select the
player on the bench.
Shift Formation - Tells your Outfielders to adjust their formation
accordingly to the current batter. I believe this position RESETS TO NORMAL
after each new batter.
3.3.1 Shift Formation
Designates fielders to shift their formation in the outfield.
Normal - They stick to the middle of the outfield. Default position.
Right - Shift Right. Left Fielder moves in-line with the shortstop, Center
Fielder in-line with second base, and Right Fielder in-line with first base.
Left - Shift Left. Left Fielder moves in-line with third baseman, center
fielder in-line with shortstop, right fielder in-line with second baseman.
Front - Shift closer to home plate. Brings in your fielders closer to the
infield.
Back - Shift further away from home plate towards the outfield walls.
The uses for the different formations aren't very obvious. If you've got
guys popping off foul balls to right, or grounders, shift right. Shift left
if they're hitting over there consistently. For power-hitters, move the
outfield back. For lousy hitters or bunts, move them inwards. In reality,
I don't shift formations at all and never have a problem. I find the interface
way too awkward to use regularly during normal gameplay.
------------------------
3.4 In-Game Batting Menu
------------------------
Old Baseball Stars start menu while batting:
Pinch Hitter
Pinch Runner
Your new Baseball Stars 2 Menu:
Pinch Hitter - Picks a pinch hitter from the bench. Now shows batting
averages.
Pinch Runner (only with men on base) - Let's you choose which base to select
a pinch runner for, and then select a runner from your bench.
View Team - Drops you into View team mode where you can look at stats (and
upgrade them while on offense!)
-----------
3.5 Bunting
-----------
Bunting has changed since the original Baseball Stars. Previously you needed
to tap the A button and your bat would stop in mid-swing in a bunt-position.
Bunting:
Press and hold down and press and hold the A button to bunt. This will aim
your bunt towards second base by default. You may release the "down"
directional once you have pressed and held the A button. You can move
left/right in the batters box while in the bunting position.
Aiming your Bunt:
While still holding the A Button:
Press up to bunt towards third base.
Press down to bunt towards first base.
The ability to more accurately aim your bunts makes bunting a valuable tool
to use in certain situations. For instance:
With a fast runner on third base and no outs you may want to sacrifice bunt
towards first or second base. A nice solid bunt will give your runner a good
head-start towards home plate. The computer will usually attempt to throw
out the man at home plate first. If you see your runner is likely not to make
it, you can usually turn around and head back to third and slide back in safe.
The computer will then usually attempt to throw out the man running to first.
If your runner is fast enough you may be able to get a man on first and third,
and if you're really clever and the computer's slow - get the man
on third home.
This is just one example of the new bunting systems invaluable addition to
your offensive strategy. While we all love to swing for the fences, sometimes
your batter has to just 'take one for the team' to bunt in the winning run.
Bunting is especially effective in the bottom of extra innings.
------------------
3.6 Other Graphics
------------------
Other minor graphical tweaks include:
New winning animations for completed leagues.
New homerun graphics for all stadiums. Displays players name, position,
and facial picture.
New Grand Slam graphics. Displays an animation of player running
between two bases pumping his fist at the outfield while a outfielder
is viewable in the background. Sometimes your runner is followed
by a small white dog! (I can't figure out what makes the dog appear!)
New "Acquire Player" and "Release Player" graphics when a player
is either fired or hired.
================
4.0 What's Gone?
================
This section details features not found in Baseball Stars 2 that were present
in the original.
--------------------------------
4.1 Rename Team/Select Team Logo
--------------------------------
Romstar, in their infinite wisdom, for some reason or another took out the
ability to name your team. You also cannot select your logo.
Instead must choose from these custom team names and logos:
DA - Detroit Arrows
MB - Memphis Bluesox
MR - Milwaukee Rockets
NC - New York Comets
TT - Torrance Tigers
VC - Vancouver Cobras
-----------------
4.2 Rename Player
-----------------
Romstar has also removed the ability to rename players.
Instead you get a small pool of preselected names when you create a team.
The naming pool is small, so duplicates among teams do occur.
New players you hire onto your team are stuck with names like STAR-1, VETE-4,
etc. This is very confusing because it leads to lots of duplicates.
-----------------------
4.3 Male/Female Players
-----------------------
On the Acquire Player screen you no longer get a selection of Male/Female.
Sorry - no more Lovely Ladies in pink outfits.
=====================
5.0 Game Genie Codes
=====================
(Credit to Lewis Galoob Toys - These came from the Game Genie Codebook.
Lewis Galoob Toys is now a subsidy of Hasbro.)
Any Game Mode:
SZSSZSVV Strikes do not count
SXSITKVV Balls do not count
PAVIPILA One strike for an out
ZAVIPILA Two strikes for an out
GAVIPILA Four strikes for an out
IAVIPILA Five strikes for an out (only 3 show on screen)
PESSIGGA One ball for a walk
ZESSIGGA Two balls for a walk
LESSIGGA Three balls for a walk
IESSIGGA Five balls for a walk (only 3 show on screen)
TESSIGGA Six balls for a walk (only 3 show on screen)
Two Player Vs. Mode:
PANILTLA One out per side instead of 3
ZANILTLA Two outs per side
GANILTLA Four outs per side
Computer Vs. Mode:
PAOAILLA One out per side instead of 3
ZAOAILLA Two outs per side
GAOAILLA Four outs per side
PEXPVGLZ Game ends after 1 inning
LEXPVGLZ Game ends after 2 innings
TEXPVGLZ Game ends after 3 innings
AEXPVGLX Game ends after 4 innings
ZEXPVGLX Game ends after 5 innings
GEXPVGLX Game ends after 6 innings
TEXPVGLX Game ends after 7 innings
AOXPVGLZ Game ends after 8 innings
==========================
6.0 Notes/Savegame Hacking
==========================
Since I can't exactly open my cartridge and hex-edit the data saved in RAM, I
tracked down a copy of the Baseball Stars 2 ROM and loaded it up in FCEUltra.
I created a team and saved the game. I then opened the .SAV file in a
Hex-Editor. I searched for ASCII values of player’s names, and replaced them
with my new names. The players names appear in two locations in a FCEUltra
SAV Upon reloading the ROM, my team was gone!
The names of the prebuilt teams are also in plain ASCII inside the .SAV file.
Changing them is irrelevant and doesn't rename them in-game. Being hardcoded
in the ROM and all you'd probably need to edit the .NES file itself.
I can't make heads from tales of the .SAV file in a hex editor. The game
apparently doesn't do garbage collection so you get a lot of residual old
data floating around. I found names of old players from my team, deleted
teams, etc.
I believe the game implements some form of checksums in the savefile to check
for valid data, otherwise it just kills the team.
If this format can be figured out by anyone, a savegame editor could be
created. This would allow you to manipulate player statistics, rename
teams/players etc. I am not a programmer by trade. If anyone messes around
with this and succeeds - please do share.
Wanted:
If anyone has a copy of the Baseball Stars 2 Manual in TXT/GIF/JPG/PNG -
whatever - please mail me! I only have the cartridge and the manual will
clear up some questions about the game for this FAQ. I cannot locate it on
the Internet.
==========
7.0 Thanks
==========
* GameFAQS.com for an amazing resource that every game junkie should visit at
least once in their life.
* Derek Kader/Pegboy (email: kader3[at]msn[dot]com) for letting me borrow
his Baseball Stars FAQ Layout and his great FAQ for Baseball Stars 1.
Check it out at:
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/file/baseball_stars_c.txt
* SNK for the original Baseball Stars.
* Romstar for Baseball Stars 2.
* All the people who have worked on the FCEUltra project
(
http://fceultra.sourceforge.net/) - the best NES Emulator I've ever used.
This saved me quite a bit of time by not having to walk back and forth
between my TV and computer, and blowing in cartridges because my screen
keeps blinking grey. Plus I got to tinker around with hex-editing. Such fun!
* Nintendo - for creating a product that's caused me to waste precious
months of my life playing games. Thanks guys!
* Anyone who's ever sat down and played a Nintendo Game with me.
* Belkin for an awesome product in the Nostromo n45 Dual-Analog USB Gamepad.
* You, the reader. If you got anything out of this file, be it a laugh or
some useful information - please drop me a quick email to the address at
the top of this FAQ even if you just say "Thanks for the FAQ".
I would really appreciate it!
