Feedback On The Manual

[tgb]

That's it? Really? System requirements and a story about each faction?
Why even bother?

I can't think of a single aspect of the game (other than graphics) that SMAC didn't do first and better. Good luck marketing this while the original is still available.

[jdmillard]

If I'm not mistaken, that isn't the completed manual.

I think the developers should roll it out in the next patch asap so we can comment on how clear it is and give suggestions. Since the in-game tips and cursor-hover-tool-tips cover a lot of the game, I think that the manual should just cover a few topics in further detail.
-hotkeys and shortcuts
-mechanics of group attacking (explanation of the order of which units attack)
-mechanics of migration and the math behind it. with simple examples
-other useful mechanics

Since many people will read the manual first, some of those topics will be overwhelming if it's the first thing they read... so put them at the end in a section called "Advanced Topics" or something.

[Evrett]

Between this waste of time and the voiceovers one wonders what is steering this ship? Who actually said/thought "players want/need these now"? These are flavor objects you can safely save till after release while instead spending those resources on gameplay additions.

[Starbuck11]

The Manual should devote a section to each victory conditions (couldn't find it if already added).
The Compendium should have one too.

[kevinsky]

I think that is entirely valid for the developers to let the users write a wiki that would complement the manual. Look at the Star Trek/Halo/Mass Effect wiki's. I grant that the pool of users is smaller but with a little push after launch from the developers this could work quite well.

[tgb]

I think that is entirely valid for the developers to let the users write a wiki that would complement the manual. Look at the Star Trek/Halo/Mass Effect wiki's. I grant that the pool of users is smaller but with a little push after launch from the developers this could work quite well.

Why should the players do the developers' work for them? And without compensation, no less.

[richmcd]

Printed manuals seem like a bit of an anachronism (I'm assuming the .pdf is the same one that was sent to the printers a week or so ago). They need to be ready a long time in advance, and anything you put in it is basically fixed from that point. The way that strategy games are constantly tweaked after release nowadays I imagine it's hard to know what to put in. I'd guess the developers would rather not bother. I doubt it was their call, though, and this seems like a good compromise.

I'm guessing feedback isn't too useful here. It's done, and even if it can be changed it's a low priority. One thing I would say: the introduction is pretty bad. It's rambling, inconsistent in tone, and badly punctuated. At the very least it should have been trimmed to fit on one page! That final paragraph dangling onto the system requirements page looks lost.

I only bring it up because I can imagine the introduction text or part of it being used elsewhere, perhaps as a blurb on websites. I'd strongly recommend taking an hour to write something new. The current text does a bad job of making the game seem exciting, and reads more like a rushed out check-list of features than a well-considered intro. It manages to be both too long and too short, because it gets to the end of the features list and just stops on an arbitrary note about diplomacy.

Which is no problem if the player already has the manual in their hands (they're probably already excited!), but a major issue if you're trying to score sales from people on the fence.

[IainMcNeil]

Hi guys,

the team decided they wanted a timeless manual and took all of the game specific info in to the in game help and tips system. The problem is they have so many plans that things change so fast a manual cannot be kept up to date so they wanted to just include the story and background.

If you want to learn more about playing the game please see these lets play videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMz4S2Q2NXw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAzfGd_jY8E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g67CcrEuNjI

In fact the game has changed so much since the manual went to print it would already be out of date! It is a constantly evolving game with a big future ahead of it so this was part of the long term plan.

So in summary it is not a mistake - this is the manual, or if you want to call it a Lore book

[ElegantCaveman]

And if anybody would rather read than watch videos, you can check out my AAR. *coughshamelessplugcough*

[IainMcNeil]

I should have linked to that too sorry!

[ElegantCaveman]

No worries!

It's not like you don't have other things on your mind today.