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Calanor
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Uppsala, Sweden
Nov 2001
time: 05:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Zealot
Paper. Because when I'm at the computer, it's because I'm playing or working. I usually read (and re-read) manuals in dead times. |
Agreed. I really dislike this new trend to skip paper manuals and simply put a big .pdf file on the CD. If I spend $50 or so (well, at least that's what I've got to pay over here) on a game, the least one would expect is a decent manual that I can read whenever and whereever I wish, not to mention the fact that I hate being forced to ALT-Tab to Windows while playing whenever I wish to refresh my memory concerning some subject. I currently don't have any decent printer and even if I did, I would not be all that happy about the idea of wasting tons of ink printing out something that I feel should have been bundled with the game.
Actually, whether or not a game includes a physical manual can determine if I'll even buy a game.
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Bleyn
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Here's what I think of the suggested formats for e-manuals for MoO3.
1.) A .PDF file   Unless done absolutely perfectly, and not just be a scan of some paper doc, a .pdf would be a crime. And not just because of the Acrobat UI. The whole app and format practically scream bloatware when it comes to this sort of thing.
2.) A .doc file. Just one .doc file? Uhm, thats like almost as bad as a .pdf. A little slimmer, a little trimmer, and usable with a bit friendlier apps, but still cumbersome. And multiple doc files wouldn't really be any better, because really everyone would want them linked, which would just get people whining about them not being .htmls, which is the next choice.
3.) .html? Almost right. At least on the right track, BUT.......
If it has to be an online format, just do the in-game Civolopedia/Datalink/Reference Guide info up right and include everything, and I mean everything someone might want out of a paper manual.
I mean think about it. The Pedia/Datalinks had some of the most useful info that one might want to go to to the manual for, but they fell so short of having everything one really wants. At least Civ/Civ2 did. Can't really speak for Civ3 yet.
Take the combat equations. If you want to know exactly what the attack/defense numbers in Civ2 or SMAC really mean and how they are really used, do the Pedia or DLs really help. Not a chance. Go straight to the the treeware, do not pass go, do not collect 200 gold pieces.
And why for crying out loud not? In Civ2, all they really were is a bunch of small text file with a different extension. All told they took up less than 250k. They could have easily put much more info in them. Can't quite seem to find the ones from SMAC, but I'm sure the info doesn't take up that much room.
The Civ2 CD had 357 megs. Thats around 300 free megs available for the Pedia they could have used.
MoO2 had 345 megs on CD. Even more free space than Civ2.
SMAC had 461 megs. Close to 200 free megs.
The SMACX cd had 572 megs on it. Thats still at least 50+ free megs.
Done right, for a TBS game, the in-game reference guide should be able to hold all the info the treeware version would, and still be useful, usable and fit in the dribs and drabs of space on the tail end of a CD. And best of all, it would be RIGHT THERE.
Does that mean I want to see treeware manuals go away? For now, probably not. Aside from lingering skepticism that an e-manual would be done right any time soon, there is still the satisfaction of pulling the game out of the box, tossing the manual aside, installing the game, and playing it for hours to days or even weeks before digging out the manual to answer that one stupid question you just can't figure out from playing the game.
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SuiteSisterMary
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To paraphrase the book 'HeadCrash,' I'll give up my dead tree versions when they make a full-colour e-book reader that can survive the drop from my lap to the bathroom floor.
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Bleyn
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I saw something yesterday that struck me as a hearald of the demise of the paper manual.
And that is the reduced size packaging for computer games. Its been a while since I was in a store that had computer games, and when I first saw one of those game boxes, I thought it was for one of the console systems. But no, I looked closer and it was a PC game. Looking further in their games section, they had lots of these smaller size boxes.
Admittedly, these boxes were for games mostly targetted at young children or non-gamers. The boxes for gamer games like Civ3 were still full size. And this was a chain store, not a computer game store. But if I recall correctly, I have heard that Walmart will within the next year or so(if they haven't already) require that all computer games they sell be sold in these reduced size packages. Apparently, once they switch, it won't matter if the game is the hottest item out there and it can't be kept on shelves, if it doesn't meet the standards for reduced size packaging, they won't carry it.
The reason that I call this a hearald of the demise of the paper manual is that these boxes really were smaller. They weren't that much bigger than the boxes for console games. I can think of only two game manuals for games I've played where the manual might have rated as a cockroach-killer that would have fit into that box. Ironically, both are Firaxis games, Gettysburg and SMAC.
And while I don't think that most game companies that produce games that need cockroach-killer treeware to go with them will hesitate to make manuals that fit in that box, this is a sign of a trend.
The reduced size packaging of today will probably become almost non-existant packaging some time down the road. Within a few years, the reduced size packages will probably be replaced by DVD-case style packaging, shrinkwrapped jewel cases, or something similarly minimalist.
Why? Well, maybe I'm just a pessimist, but I fear that when game publishers realize how much they can save by eliminating the treeware, and making the package only as large as needed to hold the game media, and that most people won't realize same and still pay the same prices... well, you get the picture. And I'm willing to bet that by the time publishers are taking this leap DVD laden systems will be prevalent enough that most games will ship on a DVD instead of one or more CDs anyway, further shrinking packaging needs for some of the more massive games.
Anyway, thats my take on the future of paper manuals.
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LDiCesare
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La Ferté sous Jouarre France
Jan 2001
time: 05:16
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I still have the MOO manual. Twas small, with the damn spaceship pictures with the names you should learn by heart in case you lost the manual... Small but served the game well. Currently, I think most manuals are mostly a waste of space and I just got rid of a half dozen game boxes that cluttered my room. A manual the size of the original MOO, or Civ if you have to put lots of things in it, would be good enough. I hate having to carry a huge box with a tiny CD and a big paper block which isn't worth reading twice (so clicking is done with the left button, whoa!).
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21-11-2001 08:51
When QS patch the game, they can patch the reference manual to synchronize the game with the manual. 
and it would be a shame if this were to detract from the game itself. 
) although there are exceptions (Smac/x a la Vel 
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