I just did a quick check on the contents of the 144 page printed manual vs the 224 page PDF. I haven't done a full proof read, just checks for missing sections. They are both from the same source material, with about 80 pages removed to make the printed one fit in the DVD case. The unprinted pages are mostly detailed reference lists of specific items in the game.

The following page ranges in the PDF contain information missing from the printed manual. If you prefer printed info you may want to print out some of these PDF pages to provide additional printed references for the game:

69-71 EARLY TECHNOLOGY LIST

85-90 CIVICS LIST

97-98 EARLY WONDERS

108-111 TERRAIN

112-122 RESOURCES

125-128 (part) NAVAL UNITS

130-131 AIR UNIT LIST

134-145 PROMOTIONS

159-159 LEADER TRAITS

160-166 (part) CIVILZATION LIST

175-188 AFTERWORDS by Soren Johnson

194-215 APPENDIX - reference tables of Civics, Terrains, Units, Buildings and Wonders

I'm not sure whether I think it's lame that Aspyr shorted the Mac version on the full printed manual, or cool that they saved a bunch of paper! ;) Me, I'm mostly an ebook kinda guy, but I have to admit it's nice to flip through a paper manual when I'm in the midst of a game..

This (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=144897) is also an excellent reference for such topics. IMO better organized and more useful, too.

Me, I'm mostly an ebook kinda guy, but I have to admit it's nice to flip through a paper manual when I'm in the midst of a game..

It may be crude, but the single biggest reason I won't ever support PDF manuals is that you can take a book to the lavatory with you. Maybe I need a PDA or something just for that purpose, but then what would I do in the bath tub?

And yes, Mac users got screwed. My Windows CivIV manual has 224 pages. Then again, I haven't looked at it in months. This site is the far better repository of game play information.

I was really disappointed by the cut down, cut-rate manual. Civ is one of the only game series that I actually like reading the manuals to. I hate reading on-screen PDFs, and I hate reading wrong-sized unbound paper printouts of PDFs. I paid $50, just like a PC user, and I want a goddamn manual!

I own a PC too, but I only use it when I have to for work. I could have bought Civ 4 for the PC and played it well before this, but I like to support Mac development of games and Mac developers, and, if the port is good, I prefer to play on a Mac, as well.

I understand some of the technical difficulties in doing a port, and hope that the next bugfix release will continue on the path as the last.

However, if we are going to be given inferior packaging as well, by which I mean the missing manual here, then that is a deliberate omission on the publisher's side, and I have nothing but contempt for that decision. If the DVD box wouldn't fit it, get a bigger box. How did it fit for the PC buyers?