A manual - will there be one?

[Gamemaster77]

The question is, how good is it? Everything up to Warlords was great. But the one for BtS was quite flimsy and basically said "see the civilopedia".

The manual should have the ENTIRE civilpedia and more. If it were up to costs I would actually pay like five bucks more for them to include a big manual in print.

 

[bob rulz]

The manual should have the ENTIRE civilpedia and more. If it were up to costs I would actually pay like five bucks more for them to include a big manual in print.

Ugh talk about overkill.

It's supposed to be a manual that teaches you how to play the game, not a history book.

 

[ori]

I am sure there will be one - and I so hope it will more accurately reflect the release version than the Civ4 manual did - same for the Civopedia that I am sure will be part of the game

 

[Steve the Noble]

I don't *need* one, but there will probably be one.

Some of my thoughts:

- a well done manual, one that really stands apart from others, can add a lot to the product experience
- in-game help/info is more likely to be used
- a well designed interface shouldn't require a user guide
- manuals tend to go obsolete quickly - even with the original release!

 

[Stormyswan]

As a beginner to the Civ series, I found the CIV manual awful: Vague... What is needed are specific examples of effects using various options. The only thing that really helped me was to follow real games--cuban-isolationist, for example.

Too often the manual just assumed understanding of certain concepts and how they were handled or to be implemented.

A manual has to be tested in the same way a game is. If a first time reader cannot follow it, then it stinks...back to the drawing boards. Don't write for the initiated.

 

[nzk13]

I know most people don't read the manuals, but I'm the type of guy who reads the manual 1-2 times before playing the game, even if there is a competent in-game interactive tutorial.

 

[Crazy George]

is this even serious? For gods sake man, I'll bet anybody anything if you buy the cd version you will have a manual. That is a fact. Hell even games you buy on steam come with pdf manuals...

I'll take a piece of this action. What odds are you giving?

But just so we're... um, ahem... "talking" about the same thing, the Manual I'm "talking" about is:

In print form,
And explains things at least as well as the Official Strategy Guide that is (reasonably expected) to be released concurently with the game for an additional $29.95 (just a guess there, folks).

Oh, and I'll pay off at 2:1 if either the Manual or the Strategy Guide bothers to include the formulas for War Weariness, Inflation, and Maintenance.

 

[frekk]

Personally, i wish to get a big, beautiful manual. I've liked to look in the manuals of every civ part i have, and besides the one from BtS all have been pretty good and informative.

The only good manual civ ever had was in civ1 - it fully explained all the mechanics behind the game and didn't waste five or six pages on a single basic function that could be explained in a paragraph.

The rest read more like promotional material. They enhance the game in that they get you interested in playing it, they might clear up a few things, but none of them were proper, comprehensive manuals.

 

[Ahriman]

I find that decent manuals have generally disappeared since they realized they could sell people strategy guides.

 

[nzk13]

I find that decent manuals have generally disappeared since they realized they could sell people strategy guides.

I dunno, some strategy guides are not that much more useful than the game manual, and in my experience, fan-made strategy guides from sites like GameFAQs, supercheats etc., are normally better than the commercial ones, believe it or not.

 

[Ahriman]

I never said official strategy guides are *good*, from everything I've heard they're total junk. But there are apparently suckers out there who will buy them, to get some info that *should* have been in the main manual.

 

[frekk]

Giving formulas for stuff like war weariness in a manual is mostly redundant.

Sure, but ... well have a look at the civ1 manual sometime:

http://www.civfanatics.com/civ1/manual/civ1_man.htm

They don't give the exact formula for anything, but they do spell out the details you need to know ... without taking 23 pages (!) just to get to the main in-game screen. There's no extraneous, unnecessary garbage littering the thing, and everything the player needs to know is there.

 

[Afforess]

Did everyone forget the tutorial that came with Civ4 vanilla?

 

[troytheface]

manual?

i suggest Attacko utube vid Guides

for the superior

 

[civ_king]

There was a tutorial?

 

[Silverdawn]

I expect they won't include lots of stats type material in the manual as it could become out of date much faster than keeping an XML file powering the Civopedia with the game.

I liked the presentation of Anion's PDF (http://forums.civfanatics.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=6570) [it also has a smaller booklet form] and used that more than the manual. Especially useful were the nice tables for difficulty levels, map sizes, civilizations, etc.

Whomever writes the tips and manual should also take a look at guide's like Sisiutil's to see areas that are worth highlighting for players that may not have been clear enough in the Civ 4 manual.

http://www.civfanatics.com/files/Civ IV Basic Strategy Guide.pdf

Please make the back of the manual have the keyboard and mouse shortcut diagrams and information. That is always much easier than having to find it in the middle somewhere.

 

[Gliese 581]

I always hope for manuals to games. I'm consistently disappointed.

 

[Gamemaster77]

I'll take a piece of this action. What odds are you giving?

But just so we're... um, ahem... "talking" about the same thing, the Manual I'm "talking" about is:

In print form,
And explains things at least as well as the Official Strategy Guide that is (reasonably expected) to be released concurently with the game for an additional $29.95 (just a guess there, folks).

Oh, and I'll pay off at 2:1 if either the Manual or the Strategy Guide bothers to include the formulas for War Weariness, Inflation, and Maintenance.

Yes that would be PERFECT if they gave us all the formula's for that kind of stuff.

 

[Willem]

Of course there'll be a manual, what game doesn't have one? Whether it will be a paper version or a PDF file on your hard drive is another matter though. And whether or not it will be any good is a completely different issue altogether.

 

[PieceOfMind]

The manual for Civ1 was indeed the best of the series. Civ2 and Civ3 still had respectable manuals. Civ4's manual was little more than a joke.

I don't expect to see a decent manual for Civ5 but I can dream.