Frequently Asked QuestionsThis F.A.Q. contains a list of the questions most frequently asked by customers and potential customers of Front Office Football. Last updated: November 27, 2007
How does the electronic download work? What do I do when I need to reinstall a game?
When purchasing the game, you download and run the installation file. After installation, run the program. You will see a dialog box containing information about the purchase. If you have already paid for the game, hit the "License" button instead of the purchase button. Enter your order ID (a string of letters and numbers beginning with "VT") in the appropriate box. You receive the order ID through email from ViaTech when you purchase the game. If you have not already purchased the game, visit the ViaTech web site (linked through our order page), use the ViaTech shopping cart, then enter your credit card information at this time, and you will receive an order ID. Once the game is licensed, you can play the game, and running the program will open the main game screen.
How many installations do I receive when paying for the download?
The standard eLicense allows two installations. You can manage these through the electronic licensing application on your computer's Control Panel. Remember to unlicense your installation when moving from one computer to another. You can use the options in the elicense application on the Control Panel by right-clicking on an entry.
I licensed the game, and then when I click on the installed game, and nothing happens. What can I do, the demo works just fine?
There are many reasons this can happen, and it's usually a problematic installation of the operating system. Here are some notes about this type of problem. Each note offers a separate potential solution to this problem:
I am receiving an error referring to a system file deemed unsuitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications (Autoexec.bat or Config.sys). Sometimes I see a message referring to a "16-bit subsystem" or autoexec.nt. What can I do?
Windows XP still uses these system files, even though they're less important than they were in the past, and can be targeted by malicious programmers and spyware. Please visit Microsoft Support for a description of this particular problem. Also, you can go to Visual Tour.com and download their XP_Fix.EXE program. This often clears up the problem.
I had the game installed and everything was working. Now I get an error 23 (or similar code) when trying to start the game?
The electronic license can uninstall itself on occasion, possibly in response to a bad shutdown of your computer or accidental deletion of a key file. Licenses do not expire. If you can't reset your license by using the electronic licensing application on your computer's control panel, contact ViaTech at support AT elicense.com, and they will reset your license for you. ViaTech has guaranteed that they will maintain the electronic licensing for these products as long as they're in business. In the unforeseen event that ViaTech goes out of business, Solecismic Software will create a new licensing scheme. Both companies believe that once you own the product, you're entitled to use it as long as you like.
I am experiencing random crashes of Front Office Football or The College Years. It was working fine until the other day, and now it seems I can't play for ten minutes without a crash?
Unfortunately, viruses are getting nastier and nastier these days, and are harder to detect. We've received a few of these reports lately, and people have been able to solve them by updating their virus definitions and running a virus scan. Sometimes, you might even need to redownload the game and reinstall it (though saved games should be okay). It's possible as well that unauthorized SpyWare may be interfering with the game's ability to write to your hard disk (this can cause an error about missing past-season data). There are free SpyWare removal utlities out there that many people recommend, including SpyBot. It's also possible that your installation has become unlicensed. Go to the eLicense application on your control panel and make sure the game is licensed. Run msconfig from the Start menu and make sure that the LicCtrl Service is checked and running.
My main computer is not connected to the internet, can I still play your games?
You can play Front Office Football, but not The College Years. With Front Office Football, we've enabled ViaTech's off-site licensing code, so you can make the purchase on any computer that's connected to the internet, then create an off-site license that can be transferred to the non-connected computer via floppy disk or other temporary transfer device. The College Years uses an older version of the ViaTech software where that function is not available.
I have additional questions about electronic licensing or the installation process. Who should I ask?
Visit ViaTech on the web, or contact them at support AT elicense.com. It turns out that their email is often nuked by spam filters. If you ask them for a license reset, or another licensing question, please check your spam folders before assuming they failed to respond. They're usually very quick to respond to questions.
Why are all the players ending up with the same name, position or salary? Why does the year or the salary cap change drastically without warning? Why do large numbers of players all join one team without warning?
Please reinstall the game and ensure you've entered your registration information EXACTLY as it appears on your receipt. Failure to do so will cause unpredictable results within the game. Remember that the registration information consists of both a name and a serial number. Both must be entered as they appear on the receipt. The name is usually your last name, all in lower case.
The registration is correct, but I'm still seeing these problems. Sometimes,
when I start playing, I see an "installation corrupted" message?
If you're using a laptop, the CD-ROM drive must be connected to the computer while you play.
Is Front Office Football completely compatible with Windows Vista?
The electronic licensing works, and ViaTech is working on a function that allows complete control over the license in the control panel, as you have with earlier operating systems. Front Office Football works as well, but you have to make sure you're running the game with administrator permissions. You also need to ensure the game can write to the directories connected with the installation (universe and leagues). If you experience any crashing of the game, and you can write to all the directories and the game has administrator privileges, try running the game in XP compatibility mode. Of course, try the demo before purchase to see if it runs on your system. One of our customers was kind enough to compile a Front Office Football 2007 and Vista FAQ, which we encourage you to examine if you're having trouble getting the game running.
How is Front Office Football 2007 sold?
This game is sold exclusively through electronic download. We can not make this game available on CD for several reasons. This was very much an either-or decision.
Will I be able to import Front Office Football 2004 saved games into Front Office Football 2007?
There are so many differences in the data files that this is not practical. However, we understand that many established multi-player leagues have a significant history, and we'd like them to be able to enjoy the new product. Commissioners of multi-player leagues that wish to convert to Front Office Football 2007 should contact us at the support address at the bottom of this page. We will convert a multi-player league for them.
Are Front Office Football 2004 and the Fourth Edition still available?
These products are no longer on sale.
Could you provide a larger demo? The idea behind the demo is just to give you a taste of the full retail version, to whet your appetite just a little. If you're still unsure about your purchase, take some time to think about it. We want happy customers, and don't want to see anyone rushed into buying a software product that won't provide hundreds of hours of gaming entertainment. You may want to look for unbiased reviews of Front Office Football online or in your favorite gaming magazines. You should also ask your friends about the game and/or visit one of the many independent gaming forums on the internet.
I'm having trouble with the electronic license for Front Office Football 2001, 2002 and/or
Front Office Football 2. Can you help?
ViaTech handles the electronic licensing for Front Office Football. Please visit Viatech Customer Support for more information. Please do not contact Digital River. They are an incredibly irresponsible company, and the people at ViaTech were kind enough to take over licensing maintenance.
All right, how exactly does that salary cap work? I'm running out of
cap money, and I have no idea where it all went. What you have to remember about the cap is that once you pay a player a bonus, that money belongs to the player. Forever. Even if you renegotiate a contract, release the player or trade him, you are still responsible for that original bonus. The tricky thing about bonuses is that they don't count under the cap all at once. Let's say you sign Bob to a five-year deal with a $10 million bonus. While Bob gets all $10 million immediately, it only counts as $2 million under the cap - each of the five years. Now, let's say you're in the second year of the contract and you release or trade Bob. You're still responsible for that bonus money. It'll still count $2 million under the cap for the second year. But the remaining $6 million will all count against the cap in the third year. Even if you want to renegotiate a contract, you still have to deal with that remaining bonus money. That's why you almost never see renegotiations or trades early in a big long-term contract. If you're confused right now, you're not alone. Professional teams hire a cap coordinator whose sole job is learning these rules and tracking cap money down to the last penny. Once you have a little experience working with the cap in Front Office Football, you'll get used to the cap.
How do I transfer a saved game from one computer to another? You need to take all the files from the "universe" and "leagues" directories of one installation, and place them in their respective directories of the second installation. This will overwrite all the saved games from the second installation, so you should back these up first.
Will the draft files from The College Years work with Front Office Football 2007? Yes. As long as you have the most recent version of The College Years. Just use the button currently assigned to Front Office Football 2004. Versions prior to 1.2a do not support exporting into Front Office Football 2007. You can download the latest College Years version from our web site. This is a free update for all existing customers.
I want to save box scores and game logs, but I don't want to keep
them forever. They're taking up a lot of space on my hard drive, what can
I do (The College Years and older versions of Front Office Football)? You can delete these files (*.flg and *.fbx) directly. The reason you can't do this from the game is that a box score or game log may belong to more than one saved game. The sequel has an option from the delete game function that allows you to delete box scores, game logs and game profiles (*.fpx) associated with the saved game. Front Office Football 2007 stores box scores and game logs differently. You may delete those files without risk, but be careful you don't delete the year-end statistics files as well. Year-end statistics are stored in LEAGUEID.YEAR files, where YEAR is the year to which the statistics apply. Box score and game log information is stored in LEAGUEIDNN.YEAR files, where NN refers to a week during the season (1-26).
I don't agree with the ratings for (insert player name here). Why did
you give him a poor rating for (insert category name here)? The core ratings are hidden in Front Office Football. Your scouts provide their own estimates of the value of each player. These may not be accurate, depending on the strengths and weaknesses of that scouting staff. So the first thing you should do is check the ratings for your scouting staff. In addition, whenever you start a new game of Front Office Football, a portion of the ratings are randomly generated. This percentage is about 5-10 percent for established veterans and up to 50 percent for rookies. This is done to maximize the replay value of the game. What's the fun of knowing that Peyton Manning will always be a superstar every time you play?
Which teams are included with The College Years? All 117 Division I-A teams as of the start of the 2004 season. These teams will play a modified version of the 2004 schedule. Games with Division I-AA opponents will be replaced by games with other teams, especially in the "Solecismic Eight." Note that none of the 120 or so Division I-AA teams are included with the game. This includes Ivy League schools, New Hampshire, Georgia Southern and Montana, among others.
What is the Solecismic Eight? When you begin a new game, you can place the Solecismic Eight in any of the 50 states. The game chooses eight cities in those states to form a ficticious conference. This gives you another place to begin your career, if you like, and adds many more potential recruits from that state to the high school recruiting pool each year. When importing players into Front Office Football, players from the Solecismic Eight show up as hailing from random small colleges.
How does Solecismic Software distribute and sell The College Years? Right now, we only sell the game through an electronic download licensed by ViaTech. Originally, we sold the game on a CD, but those are all sold, and we don't plan to have any more printed.
Do I need the Version 1.3 update for The College Years? If you have the downloadable version from ViaTech, and purchased it prior to September 14, 2004, you can download the game again and reinstall to receive the latest version. This will not affect your electronic license. If you have the CD version, there is a separate 1.3 download containing an update installer program. Do not install this update on the downloadable version, you will wreck your installation. You can check the version number using the "About The College Years" command on the game's Help Menu.
I purchased The College Years CD, can I have the download, too? These are completely separate products from a purchasing standpoint. They are functionally identical and both at the same patch level.
Which high schools are included with the game? About 14,000 public high schools are included. Pretty much any American high school with 100 or more students in grades 9-12 is in the data file. No private schools were included. No attempt was made to determine if the school actually has a football program. Nor was there any attempt to rate high schools for their football teams or academics. That's random each time you start a new game.
Can you edit player names or team names? You can edit team names and city names, but you can not edit player names. Because names are stored in separate libraries, it's actually quite a complicated task to edit a name - not something that can be handled with a simple utility. In fact, this function probably won't be available in future games.
Are you able to import draft files from The College Years into Front Office Football? Yes, you can create draft files for all existing versions of Front Office Football. Solecismic Eight players are assigned to random small colleges.
Will the draft files work with Front Office Football 2004 Yes. That option was added in version 1.2a.
What about importing into Front Office Football 2002? You need to use the "Front Office Football 2001" option on the export screen. Front Office Football 2002 is functionally identical to Front Office Football 2001.
What operating systems and configurations does The College Years require? Windows '95/'98/Me/NT4/2000/XP are supported. You will need 64 Megabytes of RAM - that's pretty much a requirement. You should have at least a Pentium II processor. The game should run without incident on a less powerful CPU, but it will run very slowly. While Virtual PC on Mac computers seems to support the demo, the electronic licensing for the download version is incompatible with the OS9 and OSX operating systems. Otherwise, if you can run the demo without incident, you should have no problem running the retail version of the game. Please spend some time with the demo before purchasing to make sure it's a game you'll enjoy.
How do I transfer a saved game from one computer to another? You need to take all the files from the "universe" directory of one installation, and place them in the "universe" directory of the second installation. This will overwrite all the saved games from the second installation, so you should back these up first. Do not replace the universe directory itself. This will force you to reinstall the game. If you're saving box scores and game logs, you do not need to transfer these files (*.flg and *.fbx).
Why am I receiving an "Installation Corrupted" message (original game only)? One of three reasons: 1) You tried to move another "universe" directory into the installation in its entirety. If that's the case, you'll have to remove the directory and reinstall the game. You can still restore old saved games. Just copy them elsewhere, then copy the files back into the new installation's "universe" without replacing the directory itself. 2) (CD Version Only) You're playing without a valid CD ROM drive attached to your computer. If that's the case, usually you have a laptop and you removed it temporarily. The drive must be attached while you play the game, though the CD does not necessarily have to be in the drive. You do not need to reinstall the game if this is the case. 3) You have an illegal copy of the game. If that's the case, tell me where you found it, and if that leads to a prosecution, you will receive a free copy of the new game.
I want to save box scores and game logs, but I don't want to keep
them forever. They're taking up a lot of space on my hard drive, what can
I do? You can delete these files (*.flg and *.fbx) directly or delete old saved games.
Will there be a TCY2? What is next for Solecismic Software That's likely someday. Since our products are not available on store shelves, having a specific product timed for a specific release date isn't necessary. We can and are more flexible. We try and remain quiet during the development process, because we feel it's best in the long run to avoid the hype of talking about products which aren't necessarily coming out at any specific time. That said, we are not certain we will release any new products in 2007.
I want to work for Solecismic Software. How do I apply for a job? I love knowing that I've created something attractive to programmers. But my goal isn't to create the next Sierra or Electronic Arts. If this venture remains financially viable, it will remain small. I love programming and statistical research, and I don't want to share the fun with anyone else.
Can I beta test your next project? We have a small beta test team assembled for future projects. At this time, we're not looking for new testers, though we appreciate your interest.
Can I ask additional questions about the games? Absolutely. But please read this F.A.Q. completely and check the game's help file (press F1 from any screen) before sending your questions. If you are reporting a bug, please make sure you have the latest patch installed before writing, and please include details about your computer, your operating system and the version of the game you are running. Our email address is support AT solecismic.com. Please do not send file attachments, as email with attachments will automatically be deleted before we read it. If your question is about the installation of the game or about the electronic licensing, you'll probably get a much faster and more accurate answer from ViaTech (support AT elicense.com). Copyright © Solecismic Software, 2008. All Rights Reserved.
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