No instruction manual? What a load of crap.

[Ames]

What, to use for those commands?

Well, not all people have mouses that have alot of buttons and stuff... You've got to think of everyone!

Enter to shoot!

 

[Barnz]

If you push the wrong key in training the gman will pop up and say

" Go and finish Half-life 1 before playing this game, asshole.

Id hate to think that there are actually people out there that want to play half-life 2 but havent played HL1 and don't have internet connections.

those people can go play doom 3 for all I care

 

[Tarkus]

WTF does he mean no manual is needed? what about the story that comes with the manuals? the keyboard setting (just a fetiche), the weapons art... WHAT THE HELL WILL WE READ DURING THE INSTALLATION PROCESS!?!?!? i won't be taking a crap until i buy hl2, so that i have something to do in the most hurting part of buying a game...

 

[Tarkus]

What, to use for those commands?

Well, not all people have mouses that have alot of buttons and stuff... You've got to think of everyone!

my mouse has 3 buttons, one of wich is not used... never had any problem playing a game with it..

 

[gokuguy]

I just went through a couple of the DVD case games on my shelf randomly, all of them include a booklet a lot more substantial than some 3-page instruction manual.
It's just nice to have something to read that provides a bit of backgound information and/or ambiance for the game that I'm about to play.

My main gripe is perhaps not the booklet itself, but rather that this seems like another example of Valve skimping on content on a full-price game.
Lombardi's unsollicited Prima Guide plug is damn annoying as well, I'm not interested in an advertorial for a book that's an advertorial in itself (this applies to "Raising the Bar" too).

My thoughts exactly.

 

[KurtCobain]

WTF does he mean no manual is needed? what about the story that comes with the manuals? the keyboard setting (just a fetiche), the weapons art... WHAT THE HELL WILL WE READ DURING THE INSTALLATION PROCESS!?!?!? i won't be taking a crap until i buy hl2, so that i have something to do in the most hurting part of buying a game...

Just preload it and then enter your cd key and play when its released /just buy off steam , simple ,

No instruction manual doesnt bother me one bit. Like i said earlier. gordon doesnt have one , why should u

 

[Vegeta897]

my mouse has 3 buttons, one of wich is not used... never had any problem playing a game with it..

Yeah, that's my point. The guy I quoted said that you could use mouse buttons for some of the extra commands, like AUX and maybe squad commands.

I said that not everyone has enough buttons on their mouse for that, or just plain old don't want to use the mouse for more than shooting and looking.

 

[Ames]

Yeah, that's my point. The guy I quoted said that you could use mouse buttons for some of the extra commands, like AUX and maybe squad commands.

I said that not everyone has enough buttons on their mouse for that, or just plain old don't want to use the mouse for more than shooting and looking.

I meant mouse1 to shoot and mouse2 to alt-fire...

 

[KurtCobain]

I meant mouse1 to shoot and mouse2 to alt-fire...

I have 4 mouse buttons. Wonder if i can use my mouse wheel to use squad command or mayb 'mouse button 4' (which is used as 'back' on web pages etc.

 

[Ames]

I have 4 mouse buttons. Wonder if i can use my mouse wheel to use squad command or mayb 'mouse button 4' (which is used as 'back' on web pages etc.

You can. If you can't then Valve = sucks. ;(

 

[Vegeta897]

I meant mouse1 to shoot and mouse2 to alt-fire...

Oh..
But why did you bother saying that? Those are OBVIOUS.

Why do you think I didn't mention WASD? Because they are OBVIOUS.

Argh...

 

[Ownzed]

My mouse has about 8 mouse buttons.

 

[Vegeta897]

My mouse has about 8 mouse buttons.

Woah, your mouse has mouse buttons?

Mine has keyboard buttons...

 

[joule]

My mouse has about 8 mouse buttons.

Geez. Lemme guess...Logitech MX series?

 

[Ames]

Oh..
But why did you bother saying that? Those are OBVIOUS.

Why do you think I didn't mention WASD? Because they are OBVIOUS.

Argh...

Because some people are amazingly stupid, haven't never played an FPS before, or have played an FPS but only on an console.

That was a waste of time....

:|

 

[Reiska]

Who needs manual anyways?

 

[Fletch]

They leave out instruction manuals and shove them onto the cd's to save money on those cheap fiver games. Im guessing its the same objective here.

Personally i savour every tree

 

[wonkers]

This is a steaming load of CRAP. Why doesn't Valve put the game in a used condom to save even more on production cost. Look Kids RESIDUAL TRACE!

 

[grumpycrab]

Well, I'm pretty sure that Steam will automatically install itself and give instructions on how to activate. You really don't need a manual for that.

Oh yes you do. How many people installing the retail version will ever have heard of Steam? There will DEFINATELY be an Installation guide/manual/sheet. At the the very least VU have to explain to punters why the Internet is needed...

But I agree that an instruction manual is pointless.

--
Grumps

 

[StAtiC]

Oh stop whining... what the heck are you gonna learn from a manual? I mean really, I NEVER READ MANUALS and find out how to play the game... seriously.... BTW, i bought retail and I am steam member.

 

[BrimStone04]

when u bought the origianl hl it came with no manuel, didnt it just come with that one piece of paper with the cd key in the jewel case...so long ago i dont remember ever seening a hl manual

 

[Tarkus]

Just preload it and then enter your cd key and play when its released /just buy off steam , simple ,

No instruction manual doesnt bother me one bit. Like i said earlier. gordon doesnt have one , why should u

i am glad that you live in a wonderland, but here in this shitty country of mine, the best internet we have is 512kb/s with a 1gig international download limit!! international being EVERYTHING except portugal.. hows that for preloading?

plus, that wouldn't solve the problem of me not having anything to read while instaling the game..

one more thing, i should have some kind of booklet, because games arent getting any cheaper, and i want some content that doesnt include the game (lets face it, warez will never be ended) that could justify the amount i pay! that AND, i'm not gordon freeman, nor intend to be..

 

[Tarkus]

when u bought the origianl hl it came with no manuel, didnt it just come with that one piece of paper with the cd key in the jewel case...so long ago i dont remember ever seening a hl manual

it did have a manual... otherwise i wouldnt be able to play, since at the time i was a flat zero in english

EDIt- let me just clarify one thing, since you guys seem to be pretty uptight about the possibility of someone actually warezing HL2, i'll let you know that i won't, since i am a huge fan of games in general, and hl1 was the first real game i ever played.

 

[Narcolepsy]

I would like to point out something that many are missing in this debate. Pretty much everyone here is a semi-hardcore gamer. Of course we never read manuals! But if the only people who bought HL2 were the people in this forum, Valve and Vivendi would be in serious trouble.

That's why these companies have to appeal to the masses. We need much, much more advertising. People need to understand what Steam is - people are going to be bewildered when it's asking to install this random thing called "Steam" and you have no choice whatsoever in the matter. A manual could be similarly helpful to these kinds of people.

 

[Platinum]

but valve is not so stupid as to not explain EXACTLY what to do ...

 

[Shocktech]

HL1 did have a manual, I assume they probably stopped including it when the game became $10 bargain bin apparal. It had some decent artwork in it, interesting to flip through while installing.


Its always nice to have some little trinket of the game to have around, but I wont lose any sleep over it.

 

[UndeadScottsman]

i don't remember that, which one?

The military clean-up squads.... Although, to be fair, anyone who had even read one review/preview of Half-Life would have known about it..

Anywho, seriously people.. the Half-Life 1 manual was crap, pure and total.. There was that cool 1 page letter, and THAT'S IT.. The weapon info was non existant (They only detailed 3 of the weapons), the monster info was also non existant (Here's a barnacle.. There's ton of other monsters in the game, but you'll have to find 'em yourself!)

The HL1 manual was actually pretty damn useless as far as story stuff goes, so I wouldn't expect Valve to suddenly change their stance on manual content.. so good riddance. Less of a chance of getting conflicting story information. (Speaking of WarCraft, did you know that there's at least FOUR different official explainations of how the first war played out? I was a huge WarCraft fan until Blizzard kept messing with the story. )

 

[Dr. Freeman]

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.

i like this idea of urs.
backstories have generally been interesting to me so i think this idea would have added to the HL2 experience.
oh well :|

 

[Peqkx]

111111

big whoop

 

[grumpycrab]

...People need to understand what Steam is - people are going to be bewildered when it's asking to install this random thing called "Steam" and you have no choice whatsoever in the matter. A manual could be similarly helpful to these kinds of people.

VU will be putting a nice thick INSTALLATION manual in the box. Note that this is different from an Instruction manual.
--
Grumps

 

[BladeTurbo]

There probably wouldn't be much in the manual to say. And nothing that wouldn't be in the training in-game. The manual could just state what the default movement keys are, how to use the use key and select weapons. And that will all be in in-game training probably, and more.

i haven't heard, is there an in-game training level like in the original HL. i have always enjoyed training levels.

 

[noah]

I would like to point out something that many are missing in this debate. Pretty much everyone here is a semi-hardcore gamer. Of course we never read manuals!

I disagree. I consider myself a hardcore PC gamer and I absolutely read manuals. I'll often read the entire manual before even playing a game.

Manuals and documentation are some of my favorite aspects of computer games as they help enrich the experience and set up the gameworld while drawing me in that much more.

I miss the days when companies would produce lavish, well crafted manuals full of lore and backstory and would often write them from the point of view of characters in the game.

Additionally, they just give games a more polished, professional, high quality feel - something that's been extremely lacking IMO (box content-wise) from most newer PC games. (A nice exception being the Warcraft III Collector's Edition.)

 

[Llevar]

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.

Do you really need a booklet telling you which button to press to shoot the gun?

 

[KBharvester]

no u don't, but its not about that. u too dense to understand?

 

[Llevar]

Funny from someone who requires a game manual for a first person shooter.

 

[KBharvester]

noone requires a manual. jesus there are some retarded ppl in these forums. its not about needing a manual...more like...wanting one, and games always have em...why cheat ppl out of em? why not just give us sharpie marked cd's while they are at it...who needs labeled cds?

if valve came out tomorrow and said hl2 was going to be delayed for another year for whatever reason, u fanbois would say something like "this is good news1 this means the game will be that much better" lamers

 

[Llevar]

I would venture to say that wanting a manual is further down the path of doltishness than actually needing one. A path that seems not entirely unfamiliar to you.

 

[KBharvester]

wow your dumb...i never read manuals btw, but only nitwits would be against havimg them. especially since ppl here don't want them becuz their beloved valve isn't including them...rofl

 

[PriNcE oF SpAcE]

I totally and utterly agree with the name of this topic.IMO the instruction manual isn't there nessercarily for actual game-help. It's the finishing touch, like a proper box to have your game in, and a nice cd/dvd case. It just finishes it off.

My friend buys alot of games from bali/singapore and they are just a burnt cd/dvds in a paper sleeve. I can't stand them, it makes it look like there has been no effort into making the game and it's cheap & tacky.

The Instruction Manual doesn't have to help in the gameplay or add any special fluff (though thats always nice), it just adds "a touch of class", if you can judge computer games to have any form of class.

There's more to a game than just what's on the dvd (this is not flamebait, this is my opinion and if people want to flame me, fine).

this guy said pretty much what I wanted to say...minus the little note on how ****ing selfish some of you guys who don't read manuals are....just because you don't read them doesn't mean that other people shouldn't be able to read them! you don't read them, fine...throw it in the trash-can or feed it to your dog, I don't care...bottom line is that it doesn't detract from your gaming experience if they include a manual...it does however for people who would like a manual, if they don't.

 

[Mrmanwithsuit]

fack instruction booklets .. those r for puzzies ooo where oh where is my lil instruction booklet i dont kno how to configure my options :S
fack Prima .. Prima is for a book company for people who r disabled in the gaming comunity .. sorta like war amps ... its for ppl who r less fortunate n have less of a brain :S