The PC (Personal Computer) is a highly configurable and upgradable gaming platform that, among home systems, sports the widest variety of control methods, largest library of games, and cutting edge graphics and sound capabilities.
I bought the umpteenth PC game of the year yesterday, and was yet again disappointed by a 250 page PDF manual. Who in their right mind thinks I'm going to print that? Where did the paper manuals go and what do you guys do to solve this problem?
For real. Some still have nice sized ones, like Neverwinter Nights, and The Witcher. Pretty much anything else gives you these cheap little fifteen page pamphlets that cover the legal stuff and credits more than anything else.
Well, where they went was they were sacrificed before the alter of budget cuts. Like What do i do? I dunno there's only like one or two genres where i really want a paper manual. Sure wargames, Simulators and very technical RPGs and those just don't come out often enough for me to worry about it if i have to scan a PDF.
Yeah i've noticed this aswell.... but some games still do give you a manual, but thing i've noticed most with newer games, is when you buy em, u open it up, and your basicly bomb-barded with a crap load of Advertisments like Alienware machines, or an Nvidia card or an ATI card. Which is all nice and stuff, but really, who cares? any gamer will know about that stuff before they even buy it really....
I have to be honest, i never really read manuals myself, but on the few games i did, you REALLY needed manuals to play some of the older games. One that springs to mind was Frontie : elite 2. Some of the old old old games, used to have manuals as the copy protection, as you'd have to search through the manual, to find a certain line on a certain page and type that word in, in order to play it....
It's probably less about going green and more about going cheap. I think the last game I bought that had a manual worth a damn was Neverwinter Nights and that came with the disappointment of paper sleeves for the CDs. Really guys. Paper sleeves? I get a nice spiral-bound manual and flimsy paper sleeves? But that was just the start of my disappointment with NWN.
I too miss the days of beefy manuals full of character such as Fallout, Fallout 2, and Mechwarrior 2 but to be honest I probably wouldn't bother reading them if they came with games today except during installation or I'm playing and I really need some reading material for the pooper.
it they want us to be more green, then make video cards use much less power!!! i mean some of these SLI setups zap up 1000WATT PSUs and thats hardly very green is it? that would make much more of a difference then some printed manuals
"It's probably less about going green and more about going cheap. I think the last game I bought that had a manual worth a damn was Neverwinter Nights and that came with the disappointment of paper sleeves for the CDs. Really guys. Paper sleeves? I get a nice spiral-bound manual and flimsy paper sleeves? But that was just the start of my disappointment with NWN.
I too miss the days of beefy manuals full of character such as Fallout, Fallout 2, and Mechwarrior 2 but to be honest I probably wouldn't bother reading them if they came with games today except during installation or I'm playing and I really need some reading material for the pooper. "
No shit with the paper sleeves! I have loads of those too. As for the game in question, I agree that a shooter like half-life wouldn't cut it, but the game in question this time around was a Civ game, which really requires a manual for quick reference, greenness and cost cutting aside. Another one I hated: Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction. Having to go through a pdf for rune words sucked. The next best thing is to print a 30 page FAQ. Which is still 30 pages.
they are making us wish for game manuals and other niceties and release collector's edition with full printed manuals and other goodies to lure us to the retail. adobe should release some very light version of its pdf reader that could be opened anywhere anytime so the manual files can be opened on top of games we play, in different sizes.
They probably realized that not enough people actually read the manuals to make it worth it. I have lots of times seen people asking online about stuff that's in the manual.
I really miss the paper manuals, too. I remember when I was a kid I used to sneak the manual for my newest game with me to school so I could read it during class :)
hmmm... yeah i think something a bit extra in the collectors editions would be really sweet, like really go to town on the manuals and make them really really nice looking with like story selections inside them and stuff or something to that affect with posters that you can pin up on the wall... i often feel there isn't enough content in these collector editions of games, so if they do eventually stop manuals being printed in ALL games, then make it more worth while for gamers to get the special editions of the games we all love... With the manuals you could really make them so themed for the game........ If i bought a game, and it came with this gorgous shinney manual that also had some kind of story inside them and not just how to play the game stuff, i certainly would be more interested in wanting to read that manual. Think you got to make gamers "want" to read manuals for the most part, and well, not many manuals do that right now, like someone said above, when you come to a boring manual that has like 300 pages, you dont wanna be thinking "good god! " which i think could be part of this small little issue, when you compare with the everyday gamer, that just simply dont read the manuals these days. Who'd read a manual for Halo? or Unreal Tournament 3? not many... unless it had something quite special inside....
i dunno i guess thats just my line of thinking i suppose heh
I remember the game Gold Rush by Sierra On Line, where not only did you get an awesome stylized manual you also got a sizable booklet delving into the history of the gold rush and two maps showing the various routes taken. This was not some collectors edition that you had to pay more for but it came standard. Manuals like these or even something as simple as the Max Payne manual which looked like a classified police document folder add so much to my immersion before the game even starts. It is truly sad that this practice has gone by the wayside.
Man i miss it back in the day ,game boxes an manuals where all part of the fun..You got a good thick manual..I remember ultimate 7 that game rocked..You got the anhk...The manual..Also got a nice map...Even the printed maps are gone these days...Any one remember like i do..You used to print out hot keys on paper...Man used to love that set up..It went over your keyboard...
Game companies are lazy..Along with every one else in the world...Look at cablevision, they make 110 dollars per person..When i went to the store last night..They had 2 tellers two to take care of like 20 people...Thats just nuts..Every thing is cut back these days...Including games...
I never read the manuals, I mean what is there to most games that I would need a manual for?
Other than games like Civ, manuals are not necessary and the PDFs are just for those who still want manual. I think the company's just realized that people don't read them a whole lot, so they might as well make it a digital file
Certain games need manuals, most FPS dont! heh... i personally just miss getting that meaty big game box with all the stuff in it, making you feel your getting all your money's worth rather then just a plain dvd case with some adverts and the game in it.
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