160 réponses à ce sujet

[AtreiyaN7]

Rylor Tormtor wrote...

AtreiyaN7 wrote...


EDIT: Also, they really are saving a lot of trees - what can I say, I'm environmentally conscious.

I really wish people would read. It is not that hard. It seems most of you are like my students at university, you just won't READ before you comment.

I am talking about the downloaded manual. The actual PHYSICAL manifestation of the manual is IRRELEVANT. I want the digital PDF to be more informative that it is. Apparently, I am in the minority here on the boards. I suppose this horse is, in fact, dead.

Yes, I know you said you had the PDF, but I don't believe there's a law stating that we are not allowed to refer to the physical version - or am I wrong? Did the Supreme Court make some sort of ruling saying that we're not allowed to refer to the physical version as well? My points addressed your complaints regarding the PDF - furthermore, any PDF manual is generally a carbon copy of the physical version, so yes, they are also saving trees (with the physical copies).

[stewie1974]

Who cares!

Oh, left brainers of course.

Look dudes there are tutes in the game. Ya know I managed to complete every bioware game I've ever played with out once refering to a manual..... I'm sure the obligotory TUTORIAL missions are more enough of a primer to get you to know the game mechanics.

[Ploppy]

You can buy a cheap book for 3 dollars and get hundreds of pages full of unique content with at least a decent cover. You buy a video game for 60 dollars and get ten b/w pages stapled together that don't even recap everything that's in the tooltips.

[Sylvius the Mad]

stewie1974 wrote...

Ya know I managed to complete every bioware game I've ever played with out once refering to a manual.

I could do that, too, but it wouldn't be as fun.

Learning the rules by reading the manual is part of the fun of playing these games.  They've basically cut an entire component of gameplay.

Modifié par Sylvius the Mad, 05 mars 2011 - 12:13 .

[Saibh]

Wait, are we talking about the boxed manual, or the official strategy guide?

In any case, I've never seen a boxed manual that actually helped me with anything.

[PrinceOfFallout13]

does it really matter? atleast this game has a manual not like brotherhood which was one page

[falconlord5]

Ploppy wrote...

You can buy a cheap book for 3 dollars and get hundreds of pages full of unique content with at least a decent cover. You buy a video game for 60 dollars and get ten b/w pages stapled together that don't even recap everything that's in the tooltips.

That would have nothing to do with the fact that when you're buying a game, you're not buying a book, now would it?

[lv12medic]

Poor manuals. They've been degrading in size, scope, and quality for many a year.

I used to like flipping through manuals while a game is installing.

The last time a manual ever helped me though was probably Jane's Combat Flight Simulator's AH-64D Longbow. Needed the manual just to figure out how to get the darn engines running.

[Sylvius the Mad]

Saibh wrote...

Wait, are we talking about the boxed manual, or the official strategy guide?

The manual.

In any case, I've never seen a boxed manual that actually helped me with anything.

Really?  I still consult the manuals for games I've had for years.  Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri has a 250 page manual that's filled with valuable data.

[Vaeliorin]

Sylvius the Mad wrote...

Rylor Tormtor wrote...
I am talking about the downloaded manual. The actual PHYSICAL manifestation of the manual is IRRELEVANT. I want the digital PDF to be more informative that it is. Apparently, I am in the minority here on the boards. I suppose this horse is, in fact, dead.

I'm happy to animate the horse so we can beat it some more.

As am I.  Though I do, in fact, demand a physical manual.  I hate PDF manuals...give me something physical that I can read in bed.

[falconlord5]

Sylvius the Mad wrote...

Saibh wrote...

Wait, are we talking about the boxed manual, or the official strategy guide?

The manual.

In any case, I've never seen a boxed manual that actually helped me with anything.

Really?  I still consult the manuals for games I've had for years.  Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri has a 250 page manual that's filled with valuable data.

Yeah, but any Sid Meier's game needs 250 pages, just to get you through the basic controls.

[contextual_entity]

I remember BGs manual, complete with map of the sword coast (which I still have on my wall), complete guides of all the areas you could visit and commentary by Volo and Elminster.

Ah, Nostalgia, how thy shoothe the longing soul.

[Saibh]

Sylvius the Mad wrote...

Really?  I still consult the manuals for games I've had for years.  Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri has a 250 page manual that's filled with valuable data.

The only reason for me to consult a manual is when I'm new to a game. Generally manuals are either so simple that I already know what's to be done, or so complicated that my newbie brain can't manage all the information.

Once I'm no longer a newbie, I learn by doing. If the manual is incredibly in depth, reading it is mostly going to constrict how I choose to play the game, and the way my strategy develops for me.

It's a personal thing. Manuals help you; they don't help me.

[Sylvius the Mad]

AtreiyaN7 wrote...

EDIT: Also, they really are saving a lot of trees - what can I say, I'm environmentally conscious.

They can save trees without failing to document the game.

[Vaeliorin]

Sylvius the Mad wrote...

Saibh wrote...
In any case, I've never seen a boxed manual that actually helped me with anything.

Really?  I still consult the manuals for games I've had for years.  Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri has a 250 page manual that's filled with valuable data.

I still pull out the BG/BG2/IWD/IWD2 manuals whenever I replay those games.  Granted, it's mostly to look at experience charts, but I always end up spending an hour or so reading through them, just enjoying the fluff that they've put in the manual.

[Sylvius the Mad]

Vaeliorin wrote...

I still pull out the BG/BG2/IWD/IWD2 manuals whenever I replay those games.  Granted, it's mostly to look at experience charts, but I always end up spending an hour or so reading through them, just enjoying the fluff that they've put in the manual.

It's part of the product.  Losing it is as much a feature cut as the tactical camera is.

Vaeliorin wrote...

As am I.  Though I do, in fact, demand a physical manual.  I hate PDF manuals...give me something physical that I can read in bed.

If it's in a decent printable format, I'd be willing to get it bound myself.

[AtreiyaN7]

Sylvius the Mad wrote...

AtreiyaN7 wrote...

EDIT: Also, they really are saving a lot of trees - what can I say, I'm environmentally conscious.

They can save trees without failing to document the game.

It's documented enough for my tastes these days, and don't be so serious all the time - thppt. If we were talking about Falcon 4.0 or another flight sim, then I could see a need for an exceptionally detailed manual (PDF or otherwise). However, when talking about the average game where that level of information isn't necessary, I'm fine with the thin manual.

Modifié par AtreiyaN7, 05 mars 2011 - 01:01 .

[Sylvius the Mad]

AtreiyaN7 wrote...

However, when talking about the average game where that level of information isn't necessary, I'm fine with the thin manual.

Regardless of whether that level of information is necessary, it's something I think the developers have a responsibility to provide.

I would never buy software for my office without that software being fully documented (even if it's just some online knowledgebase).  I hold software at home to a similar standard.

Poor documentation makes for a poor game.  I love DAO, but until the Detailed Tooltips mod came out I found it almost unplayable.

[Polemists05]

I'm surprised you were able to read the manual early, I mean if they release the pdf early, you think they'd just release the strategy guides and other side material early so people could read something over weekend.

[Malu Cap]

 I find that most game manuals have gotten thinner in size in content.  The official strategy guides are more helpful IMO, but then that's a separate purchase <_<


It would be nice though if developers would come out with more comprehensive manuals in digital format.  Gotta save the trees 

[Waruko Shinobu]

blothulfur wrote...

Anybody remember the old books of lore you used to get with the old ultima games, came with a cloth map and a little feely all in the standard edition box.

Beautiful artwork, great writing and a real aid to immersion in the world you were about to dive in to, none of it was really needed but it was bloody welcome and appreciated.

I ****ing miss those Ultima cloth maps. Place them up on the wall and stick pins with string on them for Moon gate tracking...ah the good ole days. I also miss the old Blizzard manuals (Warcraft 1&2, Diablo, Starcraft) where all the back story was placed, it made for good bed side reading. Thank god at least most fighting games list the moves in their manuals still...not that I would know...they still do right? Right?

[r2dr]

Zalocx wrote...

400 page manuals are a thing of the past, regardless of platform

It's such a shame. Today manuals are crap because nobody reads them, but why would anyone read manuals that are 15 page long pamphlets that any idiot could deduce from themselves?

I remember, I think it was the manual for Fallout, that had recipes for nuclear holocaust-themed snacks you could eat as you played.

[Sylvius the Mad]

malu2573 wrote...

The official strategy guides are more helpful IMO

Aren't the strategy guides also filled with spoilers?  Maps and NPC names and the like?

If so, then I never want to look at one.  But if not, I'm ordering one today.