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HalfLifeExpert -> RE: RTFM? (3/27/2018 4:35:51 AM)
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Well this thread certainly got quite large very quickly. I've not read all of it at this time, but I wanted to put down some thoughts on OP and some of the early comments.
But before I go there, what does RTFM stand for? I literally have no idea, and I don't know if any of the posts in this thread explain it, so forgive me for my apparent ignorance on that acronym.
Anyway....
For starters, I think a major overhaul of the basic manual is in order, it should be updated to account for the major changes to CMANO since it's last printing, which was quite a while ago. This includes explaining the CoW features and how to access them. F
An updated manual should also strive to make it perfectly clear that new features may be added and give a link to the Manual Addendum page.
The addition of the Strike and Submarine tutorials are great, and more tutorials like them would be very helpful in the future.
I think that basically overall, there is no type of learning resource that should NOT be created, be it by the developers or the community.
But to put down something more specific, I think a sort of open source glossary on CMANO relevant acronyms and terms would be pretty helpful, something much larger than the glossary in the main manual, to include things like BARCAP, CIWS, CVBG and hull type designations (SSBN,CG,AGI etc)
Think of it as a sort of universal 'dictionary' for terms and acronyms. I know it would be a major undertaking, but it's all about short explanations for things, not long paragraphs, such as:
SSBN: Ballistic Missile Submarine that is Nuclear powered
CIWS: Close In Weapon System; a rapid fire cannon mainly used against incoming missiles
BARCAP: Barrier Combat Air Patrol; a CAP that is generally placed between a Carrier group and a likely approach direction of enemy aircraft.
Goblin: An unidentified underwater contact
Skunk: An unidentified surface contact
And it would be divided into categories instead of a long alphabetical list of everything.
Now i'd like to comment on Wood's statement in this thread, post #16:
quote:
And now we come to my main point.
"Impatient players"
This is the problem. When people come in and ask about the game, they will get an almost universal response that the game isn't for everyone. If you want to jump right in and start playing complicated scenarios, you will be disappointed and frustrated. In the old 1-10 Avalon Hill game complexity rating system, this is a 12. Even the most simple scenario is more complicated than 95% of the PC games out there.
I remember one of the first reviewers panned Command because the screen was so cluttered when he played. He started out with a large scenario and didn't know about the map options. He never read the manual, played a tutorial, or even played around with the options. He just plowed in and then panned the game.
Experienced players will help, but at some point, even the most charitable player will eventually throw their hands up in the air in their own frustration if the new player isn't willing to do some basic work to understand naval warfare and the game. The results of those encounters are scattered over the five year history of this forum. I came to the conclusion a few years ago its better to confront that issue early and upfront. Sometimes its painful and not pretty, but it keeps the forum from degenerating like it has several times in the past.
I don't think its the devs responsibility or duty to spend an inordinate amount of time with "impatient players". I don't want them spending their time that way. I want them adding features and developing DLC. The documentation is actually, in its raw form, very good and complete. It definitely could be organized and consolidated, but its there. There are probably close to 20 tutorials in the game and on the forums. There are dozens of videos. No matter how many you build, the player still has to have the ambition to use them.
I mean, we still have players to this day that bring problems to the forum without a save. There is an entire thread on new players and asking for help. No one gets hammered for asking a question. But asking a question and then not taking advantage of the lesson learned does cause frustration. The people I like helping are people with a question that takes what you say and goes and tries it and does some research on it. This is a game that requires learning, training, patience, and a good understanding of the resources that are at hand to help.
Good tutorials and documentation are always welcome, but still only help to a point. And keeping them up to date and organized is a lot of work. There was a discussion about a year after release about the devs spending time on manuals. The general consensus was that as long as we know where to look, the players would rather time be spent on development. I would like to see the community, with help from the devs, tale all the existing docs and get them into shape for new users. We can solve this is we want to have a little ambition.
There will always be some players that will never get CMANO at any level. That has to be accepted. This is by no means a game for everyone, or even the majority. In fact, I almost consider playing Command to be a hobby in of itself, and that's without any scenario creation (based on my experience).
I think that in terms of introducing new players, the most paramount task is to effectively convey to them exactly what Command is, and what one has to understand before entering it's world, and it is by no means a simple task.
That is the core purpose behind my Steam Guide which I will link here for those who have not seen it: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1081327870
Section 3 even explicitly states that one needs patience to play CMANO.
The intention of this is not to directly teach you how to play, but to more fully understand what it is you are getting into. A sort of bridge between the product page and everything else. I determined that myself in the time before I got CMANO by studying the manual and watching Let's plays as well as Baloogan's videos. And upon getting CMANO, I fully understood that I needed to work within my limited knowledge and build up my own capabilities at my own pace.
I do share Wood's frustration at players who with this, as well as other games, who fail to do much if any research on games before buying them. To me that is just lunacy. There is practically unlimited information available for free for many games out there, CMANO included, and there is simply no excuse in this day and age, in my opinion, for complaining about not understanding a game you just bought on a whim without any research on your own part.
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