Just a quick guide to what the different categories mean, the timing I used to set my time, and all the nit-picky type things (will be posting a short guide within the next few weeks with specific strats to help get people started...I'm in the process of moving, and my NES and much of my streaming set-up is already at the new house)

Some volley ball basics..the flow of beach volleyball tends to follow a predictable pattern. Typically, when the ball crosses to your side of the court, it usually follows three distinct moves ( - The Bump, The Set, and the Spike. The bump is the initial hit when the ball crosses the net to your side of the court. The set, is exactly what it sounds like, it's a move to "set" the ball in the optimal position for the next move - THE SPIKE. Now, that's not to say that you have to spike the ball back to your opponent, but, obviously, it's the most effective, powerful way to get your opponents to miss and for you to score a point for your team. Now that we have that out of the way, on to the distinct categories.

Auto-Set vs No Auto-Set - In the option menu, one can change the game play from auto set, to no auto set. The reason why I separated them into two categories is because with auto set, the CPU takes control of the 2nd character on your team, obviously making the game more stream-lined and easier to control (in essence, it's easy mode) so, the CPU sets you up for the spike.

In No Auto-Set, it's the opposite. When the ball crosses to your side of the court, and your character makes the bump, your control switches to the other member of your team. While this can make the game MUCH faster, due to you being able to spike off of the bump (the 1st hit) this is much more difficult to control, and the potential for missed/bad shots is greatly increased. But without risk, there is no rewards, amirite? :)

World/American cups - World cup has a steeper difficulty, due to more powerful and faster opponents, where the American Cup opponents tend to have more predictable patterns, aren't as powerful, and they don't move around the court as quickly. Each team you face in the game have different strengths and weaknesses, and getting used to them and knowing what to expect from each team is the key here.

Team selection - There is no stipulation on what team can be used in a run, as they all have their own strengths and weaknesses, which I will go over in a more in-depth guide in the near future. It's all about what feels most comfortable to you at this point (until ¤hopefully¤ this game takes off and we get a lot of people running it, and figure out if there is one that is found to be universally better to make a run with)

Timing - Timer starts when start is hit on the "game start" option, and timer finishes when the final point is scored in the last match (as soon as the ball hits the sand)

As I stated, these are just basics of the game, to help people get started. I'll go more in depth about everything here in a later guide, which will include specific strengths and weaknesses of each team you face, and each team you can play as, spike and serving strats, blocking, etc.