Game Manual in HTML Format ??????

[Richard]

To be perfectly honest we did no want to publish an html manual at all but once we determined how large it would be converted we had no choice.

The pdf is different in that it is an easily transportable and printable format where html is not. In either case we are opposed to posting of this manual (html ot pdf) anywhere.

However if you personally want to make a pdf from the html for your use, more power to you and I would encourage that, just don't post it to another site.

In either case the decision isn't up to me but due to the current state of affairs I support this decision. We are taking steps to ensure that such things don't happen again (ie a manual not being thoroughly checked until far too late in the QA process).

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Sarge is coming...

Richard Arnesen
Director of Covert Ops
Shrapnel Games
http://www.shrapnelgames.com

[rdouglass]

I'm not sure I agree with you on the ease of PDF vs HTML - to me they're both a "no brainer". Reguardless, I want to thank you for the clear, concise, and (seemingly) honest answer to my ravings.

Thanks!!!

[Instar]

Id buy the full manual, hey its only 8 bucks! I like having the full manual. (At my house I have to shared the computer, so Id rather be playing than reading a manual, I could read while someone else is doing stuff on the computer.)

[James Sterrett]

I've uploaded a SEIV Tech Tree listing as a Word doco, to http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/ubbuploads/James+Sterrett/SE4TechTree.doc. It lists all of the techs, makes their inter-relationships & costs more clear, and ought to be easily printable. It also includes some basic info on the various weapons systems.

[This message has been edited by James Sterrett (edited 15 November 2000).]

[This message has been edited by James Sterrett (edited 15 November 2000).]

[Dime Greenback]

Richard, would it be acceptable to Shrapnel to mail out a PDF manual to those paying customers who request it?

From what I have read on the forum someone has already made a PDF which he could give you, and you have the email address of your customers anyway. So where is the problem with that approach?

Just a suggestion...

[Tim Brooks]

This message has also been posted in the "Manual Disappointment" topic.

Hi Guys:

Just so you understand our position. Yes, piracy is one of the issues here and it is an important one. You have to understand the amount of money invested in just the parts to the game. The Last thing any publisher can afford (especially a small publisher) is wholesale piracy as it deletes the investment monies, making it less likely that the game would be supported in future Versions. Remember that investors look at the return on their dollars. If less than they could make in, say, mutual funds, hey then why take the risk. It is all about limiting risk. And the more you set yourself up for ease of piracy, the more it will be pirated. This isn't a great answer for the gamer, I know, as I am one myself, but it is the reality.

But to me is an even more important point. That being the other markets. This is a game that, at some future point, deserves the retail chain, especially in foreign countries where shipping costs can really limit your internet market. If we were to release the manual in other formats, the chance of the larger retailers picking it up would go way down. The more you "deplete" the product like this the less interested the stores are in the product. And for the same reasons - they have to get a certain return on their investment in the product and if they see it being depleted through piracy, they won't take it.

The honest gamer gets hurt by this, I know, and I am sorry for that. We could print a manual and offer it at cost to those who really want it, but we have our doubts as to how many would really pay for this (thus the reason why we didn't include it to begin with - the extra cost involved in printing an almost 400 page manual - plus the issue of the depleted graphics you get in printing 72dpi images).

This is the way we came up with to give the gamer the quality graphics, and the information they need. In so choosing this method, we are minimizing the cost to you, the consumer, maximizing the ROI of the investors and maximizing the amount of money Malfador can make, thus allowing many more Versions to come in the future.



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Tim Brooks
Shrapnel Games

[Werdna]

Dime Greenback:"So is it possible to hit a button and get the complete manual printout in one print job?"

I did this with IE 5, there is an option when you select File > Print, you can check a box labeled "Print all linked documents", this worked fine for me.

Though I would be much much happier with a .pdf document, preferbably with page numbers and a table of contents and an index.