####################### # TOP SPIN # # Player Creation FAQ # ####################### Version 0.9 Date 17th December 2003 The FAQ and Guide of Player Creation in Top Spin written by yannzoo COPYRIGHTS YANNZOO 2003 Personnal Tennis Game Website (only in French at the moment): www.tennisgames.fr.st LEGAL INFORMATION ----------------- Top Spin is a trademark of Microsoft. All rights reserved. This document is not sponsored or endorsed by Microsoft. This document is for private, non-commercial use only and CANNOT be sold for profit. All information contained within this document is the author's original work except where noted. This document cannot be altered or edited under any circumstances other than by the author. No portion of this document can appear in any form within any other document or web site without the author's permission. Frequently asked questions: __________________________ Q: How many career stars are there? A: There are 14 stars. You have to allocate them among the following abilities : serve, volley, forehand and backhand. Once you know the type of player you want to create, you just have to choose the abilities you want to improve and succeed in the corresponding training. Of course it will cost some money (from 1000 Coins for the 1st star to 50,000 Coins for the 5th). Q: How many skills are there and how do I get them all? A: You must choose 1 skill (out of 4) every 4 stars allocated. The last one is given when you reach the "Legend" status, so when you are fully trained (14 Stars) AND you won a Grand Slam Tournament AND you were #1 in the rankings. Q: Sampras and Hingis have 15 Stars, is this possible to get also 15 Stars? A: Despite the so called Sampras Glitch in the Exhibition menu (without any real incidence) or maybe an Action Replay Code, it is impossible to get more than 14 Stars. Q: Do Height and Weight make difference in terms of performance? A: Rumours tend to show that they do, but it may be only visual impression... Introduction: ------------ During the initial phase of the player's creation process, many options are offered to customize your player. Since the choices depend on your tastes and are mostly cosmetical, this FAQ rather focuses on the allocation of stars and skills. Indeed creating a player in Top Spin means making choices. Due to the fact that once a choice is made it is impossible to go back unless you create a new player, all decisions must be taken carefully. Therefore as you begin the player's creation process, you should have a clear idea of the kind of player you want to have in the end (for instance a net player or a baseline player). 1) Natural Talent -------------- Firstable, you have to choose the player's natural talent. You can choose between Powerful, Defense and Technician. There is no "best choice", however, unless you want an all around player really well balanced (and therefore not REALLY effective in a particular way of playing), Powerful and Technician appear more interesting. Indeed, if you want to create a special player, for instance a big server, you will probably need to focus on power, so the powerful talent would be useful to get the most powerful serve possible. Here is the list of the different natural talents and their respective stats: Powerful: -------- Power: +2 Speed: --1 Angle: 0 Precision: --1 Defense: ------- Power: --1 Speed: +1 Angle: +1 Precision: --1 Technician: ---------- Power: --2 Speed: 0 Angle: +1 Precision: +1 2) Allocating stars ---------------- Once you will have chosen the natural talent of your player, you must decide exactly which abilities you want to improve and how many Stars you want to allocate to them. Abilities are Serve, volley, backhand and forehand. With each star allocated to an abitlity, it gains power, precision and angle. So this is where you really choose the type of player you want to create, because a player that has ZERO Star on Volley will NEVER be good at the net, even with Skills... As the different level for each ability show, there are 4 levels (in spite you can allocate from 0 to 5 Stars). These are the ZERO level, the Bronze Level, the Silver Level and the Gold Level. - The ZERO Level is very dangerous because an ability at this level is terribly weak, meaning that it will be VERY difficult to win points with for instance a ZERO star Volley. Moreover, your opponents may use it to beat you... - The Bronze Level (1 and 2 Stars) means also a rather weak ability but it may be effective when you use it perfectly. It can even become average if you add a Skill to it (for instance, a 2 Stars serve with Ace Skill is very close to a 3 Stars serve). - The Silver Level (3 and 4 Stars). Having 3 Stars corresponds to a really average ability, neither a weakness nor a real strong point. Thus, a 4 Star ability means that it is a real strong point (even more if you add a skill) and one of your main "weapons". - The Gold Level (5 Stars) means that this ability is perfect, therefore it must be your main weapon or at least one of your main weapons. It can become ultimate if you also add a skill but be aware that this would be a really extreme choice... 3) Choosing Skills --------------- Skills are divided into two parts. The most common improve stats or abilities (noted I) and are close to the addition of a Star whereas some are unique talents (noted U). As a consequence, they can be used either to balance or improve a player's abilities or to give him or her some special talents. Anyway, the choice depends on the final type of player you want to create. First Skills ------------- 1.Curve serve (U): It gives a special lateral effect when you serve. 2.Precision (I): This skill helps you to make less faults. 3.Return risk shots (I): This gives you some more speed and accuracy to your shot's execution when you face a risk shot. 4.Return serve (I): This skill gives both more power and angle to your return of serve. Second Skills ------------- 1.Volley (I): This gives some more angle, power and accuracy to your volley. 2.Speed (I): This will make you move a little faster, therefore it helps to reach far shots and it gives some more time to prepare your shots. 3.Angle (I): This helps to play cross court shots both for backhand and forehand. 4.Power (I): This gives some more power to all abilities. Third Skills ------------ 1.Risk shot: It makes Risk Shots easier to play and more accurate. 2.Passing shot (I): It gives both more power and angle when your opponent is at the net and you are playing from the baseline. 3.Ace: It gives both more power and accuracy to your serve. 4.Drop shot: It makes Drop Shots easier to play and more accurate. Fourth Skills ------------- 1.Topspin (U): It makes the ball bounce higher and also adds an effect towards the inside of the court (when played down the line). Useful when you play cross court shots but dangerous against net players, since the ball gets higher they can smash it easier... 2.Slice (U): It makes the ball bounce lower and also adds an effect towards the outisde of the court (when played down the line). Useful to defend, to calm down a rally or to rush to the net (both confuses and gives time). 3.Agressive lob (U): Gives a faster (but lower) lob. 4.Smash (U): Lets you smash higher lobs. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ CONTACT INFORMATION: ------------------- If you think that something is missing in this FAQ or if you found something wrong, you can contact me on the Top Spin Board of Gamefaqs or email me yannzoo2@yahoo.fr If you have any question about the Player Creation of Top Spin FAQ that are not already answered in this FAQ, you can contact me the same way. PLEASE NOTE THAT I WON'T OPEN ANY EMAIL WITH AN ATTACHED FILE. END OF TOP SPIN PLAYER CREATION MODE FAQ Copyrights Yannzoo 2003.