No instruction manual? What a load of crap.

I really dont see why everyone is complaining over a instruction booklet. The only instruction booklet i've ever read was that Opposing Force one, that contained no valuable information what-so-ever.

Do you people seriously think that you're going to spend the first few minutes with the game, reading a booklet that tells you how to walk and jump, instead of actually DOING those things
 
Anyhoo, it fits in with the Half-Life style of immersion...

Where are you going to find an instruction manual right after Half-Life and just before HL2?

I don't think the G-man will hand you an manual telling you the backstory to it.....
 
iamaelephant said:
Don't call me a fanboy asshole.
Click to expand...
Oh calm down, he could call you worse.
As I'm lazy I have no idea if anyone's already said this, but perhaps there's a .pdf or html style manual on the CD as opposed to a paper one. Go Valve for saving the trees.
Whoopi Goldberg'll get on her Gaia costume and congratulate you any day now...
 
Maybe they are talking about the steam versions... im sure the retail version will have something..
If not, i will be very surprised.. and kind of dissapointed.. i love manuals, its good reading for the the ride home with the game :p
 
User Name said:
Gordon is NOT a girly man. :|
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Haha thank you. I've been awake for almost 2 days without sleep and have been typing "Gorden" all day, each time it just looked wrong, to much like golden. Anyway thanks for correcting me, I doubt I would of noticed untill I got some sleep.
 
Disappointing if true. I can't believe they wouldn't at least include a PDF. The original Half-Life manual made for some interesting reading. Not all game manuals are worthless.
 
Actually, in my opinion, other than the opening letter and the couple of sketches in the backgrounds of some pages (Which we'll be able to get a LOT MORE of in the Raising the Bar book) the Half-Life manual was pretty lame as far as manuals go... even going as far as to spoiling one of the plot twists in the game..
 
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I bought mine over steam, so I'm not that dissappointed.
It would have been cool to look though etc. but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
 
iamaelephant said:
Just posted in the Valve Info Thread.



That's bullshit. Why no instruction manual? When was the last time you bought a game without a manual? Furthermore, he tells us if we do want an instruction manual, we have to go out and pay more money for it.
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It's an FPS. If you really require a manual you're either a fanboy beyond help or a total moron. Either way you're doing fine...
 
well quite frankly, if you have a computer, and you have figured out how to go to the store, buy the game, get home, and open the box, I think it is safe to say you can install it.
 
I don't care. I never read them anyways. I just learn the game as I go along or go through their tutorial/hazard course/training map thingy.
:cheers:
 
Look, people, calm down. Doug said there would be no instruction booklet. He never said the game packaging would be entirely devoid of instructional material. Most likely there'll be a little "Getting Started" pamphlet that will walk folks through the installation process and give a brief overview of how to play the game.
 
Oh for goodness sake, I'll write you the damn instruction manual !

---------------------------------------------------------------
Half-Life 2 Unoffical Instruction Manual
---------------------------------------------------------------

Installation :

1) Insert CD/DVD into CD/DVD drive.
2) Follow the instructions that pop up to install Half-Life 2.

Controls.

"W" - Move Foward
"S" - Move Backward
"A" - Strafe Left
"D - Strafe Right
"1-6" - Weapon Select

Use the mouse to aim. Use mouse button *1* to fire currently selected weapon. Use mouse button *2* to use secondary mode of currently selected weapon.

Thanks !
Valve Software.
---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------

Just print that out, and there you are, there's your instruction manual/card ... ! :p :bounce:
 
wewt, my steam packages look that much more sweeter :D

anyway, we will surely have the ingame training camp (for those that need it, and for us who will do it just for the hell of it)
 
the one thing about a manuel that gets overlooked is what Valve did with the HL manuel and Opposing Force manuel where theres notes and letters giving details relating to the storyline.. and i thought that was a very nice touch.

now with no manuel.. that uniqueness is gone.. really if the production of manuels wouldn't add much to the final price.. then i'd obviously had gone ahead with the manuels.
oh well.
 
man in HL1 u could read parts of the Story in form of Letters and I like weapon Info im disapointed
 
Don't forget that the instruction manual is typically the most expensive part of the game to manufacture, next to the box. Printing a manual isn't like printing a newspaper - the quality of paper stock and ink is far superior to anything you'll get out of an inkjet printer. Also, I'm sure many of you noticed when PC game boxes were reduced in size by over 60% - a savings for the manufactures, and a boon for retailers who have more space for other products.
 
KurtCobain said:
I do believe 'imanelephant' was calling seppo an asshole because he called him a fanboy.

What offence he takes from being called a fanboy i dno but n/m
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Cause then his poor credibillity falls to bottom of the ocean like a rock, i'm just surprised that i has not happened yet, or he doesn't believe it has.

The only time i read through a manual is when i was on vacation once. So we had like a week until i could play it.

Other than that i only checkout frontpage art, which is oddly enough mostly the same art from the case itself.

And of course the back where the serials are usually listed.

And if Doug were really trying to pimp the products on you he would also talk about the mod makers guide and probably also Raising the bar. But i think the reason he talks about it is because if you compare with steam then the gold edition does have a Prima Strategy Guide.

Which hardly makes up a manual anyways, maybe if you combined all 3 prima books it would.
 
Cry about it. The last time I checked, new manuals are only good for restroom reading.
 
don't you guys remember from HL and Op4 how there was cool stuff like letters from black mesa about gordon's new job and a military diary sort of thing for shepard. It was like, "day 1: some suit-and-tie guy is checkin us out, maybe he's recruiting for a mission" or something along the lines of that.

just adds some cool character to the game. like Warcraft 3's manual, i know it's a totally different game but they all this history on the different races and stories about great wars etc. Adds a lot to the game imo.

For HL2 you could add all this stuff about Black Mesa, the administrator, i dunno. just somethign interesting to read.
 
iamaelephant said:
Just posted in the Valve Info Thread.

That's bullshit. Why no instruction manual? When was the last time you bought a game without a manual? Furthermore, he tells us if we do want an instruction manual, we have to go out and pay more money for it.
Click to expand...
What do you need a manual for anyway? buy gold steam package, you get the guide with that.
I have but I will not be reading the book until I have completed the game.
 
i'm disappointed, they could at least make a lil booklet with cool stuff and easter eggs in it.

anyone cared to look at the Blue Shift standalone instruction manual? it had the black mesa application sheet i think and other related stuff to the game. pretty neat bonus i think.

edit: shit, some dude four posts above me totally owned my comment. :D
 
There will probably be training at the beginning of the game, and there will be a technical support document or something... that's really all you need.
 
Tredoslop said:
Maybe they'll have some sort of Hazard course.
Click to expand...
yeah i always wondered how they are gonna teach you how to move and stuff like that
 
I think a cool thing they could have added to the manual would be something like a newpaper report that refers to the incidents of Black Mesa, or something like that.
 
iamaelephant said:
I think a cool thing they could have added to the manual would be something like a newpaper report that refers to the incidents of Black Mesa, or something like that.
Click to expand...

Why do that if it's in the game?

I always feel manuals are stuffed with all kinds of useless information, well atleast for a manual.
 
I usually unpack and read manuals on my way from Media Markt after buying a game.. But this time there is no such trip. All I needed to do is purchase Silver and preload HL2. I pretty much have it (albeit encrypted until 11.16).

So I don't really need a manual. If there is a training course - I always will do it, just to get familiar with the more specific nuances of the game (other than moving and shooting.. :))
 
Hm..... i can't read the manual even if they had one while i drive home... because i have to concentrate on the traffic rather than trying to read the manual.....
 
Welll, this does make sense. When they realized that they were going to release the game on steam they noticed that alot of customers wouldn't be getting any kind of manual, so most likely they decided to scrap the entire manual and build it into the game in form of a "hazard course" or something simillar, perhaps like the FarCry begining?
 
Come on people! If you already know how to play halflife 1, then I'm 100% sure you won't need a manual.
 
When is the last time you needed an instruction (not stradegy) manual?

Here's one:

1. Put disk in drive.

2. Follow the auto-run.

3. Grab a beer and relax as the game installs.
 
I should add that I am underage (13), and take a bus from my home to Mediamarkt and back.
 
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