Interested in being a part of a private alpha for Valley 2? Read here.

[x4000]

People were stupid in the 80s, too.  But they had giant manuals back then that explained everything in painful depth.

And people actually read them, most importantly.

But again, "people" only referred to an extremely technical subgroup.  Now we're talking about the populace at large, with the explosion of computer use.

[Wanderer]

People were stupid in the 80s, too.  But they had giant manuals back then that explained everything in painful depth.

And people actually read them, most importantly.

But again, "people" only referred to an extremely technical subgroup.  Now we're talking about the populace at large, with the explosion of computer use.

Once Grandma started gaming, there was no turning back.  If Woody had gone to the police, this would never have happened.

Btw, pretty screenshot.  I like the tile artwork.  Is that actual 3D isometric or just some really nice 2D artwork?

[mrhanman]

Wow, the new screenshot looks incredible.  Kinda giving me a Populous vibe. 

[Aklyon]

People were stupid in the 80s, too.  But they had giant manuals back then that explained everything in painful depth.

And people actually read them, most importantly.

Now people probably would just use them for smacking people with.

[x4000]

Glad you guys like the artwork, I agree it's really awesome.  All those tiles were by one tireless woman!  They're all actually 2D art, not 3D.

[KDR_11k]

People were stupid in the 80s, too.  But they had giant manuals back then that explained everything in painful depth.

And people actually read them, most importantly.

They also contained correct and comprehensive information written in a proper language. These days it's not even worth reading game manuals because they usually don't contain any information that isn't bleedingly obvious anyway so when you're wondering what this or that stat means or how that multiplayer mode is played you should go straight to the internet because the manual won't tell you either.

[x4000]

I've pretty much given up on worrying about making manuals for my own stuff because it's so hard to keep them up current AND almost nobody reads them.

[Oralordos]

I've pretty much given up on worrying about making manuals for my own stuff because it's so hard to keep them up current AND almost nobody reads them.

I know right? I was looking in the AI War directory to find the name of a file to answer a question here on the forums yesterday and found the AI War manual. I forgot there was one.

[LaughingThesaurus]

The AI War manual was awesome, though. Made me long for the olden days where I saved manuals for games and read them when I was bored.

Speaking of awesome, that world map is gorgeous. I remember you had an older picture of that. I felt a bit iffy on it, but I guess it was just because the art wasn't completely done yet. The pop-up nature of things just looked cluttered then, but now it looks more 'real' and 'alive'. I like.

[x4000]

Glad you liked the AI War manual.  Depending on when you're referring to, it was either done by Calvin (Revenantus), who did a bit of contract work for us in the past.  Or it was done by my wife, if it's more recent.

[LaughingThesaurus]

I honestly don't remember when it was. I might give it a look and offer a more current opinion on it if you suppose Calvin or your wife want that. But, at the time, I remember it seeming cluttered and basically just wrote it off as 'beta is beta'.

[x4000]

Eh?  I thought you liked it.  Anyway, no, neither of them would care at all.

[LaughingThesaurus]

I think I liked where it was going but I love this one for being kind of really easy to tell what everything is at a glance. Unless... that dark castle ISN'T the evil overlord, and all that jazz.
The sort of fog of war effect helps, I think.
I just seriously love how fantastic the desert looks. It just looks so amazingly alive.

[khadgar]

I took a break from gaming for a while, but now here I am again. I didn't read through this entire thread to see if there was a specific place in which I should express my preference to be considered for an alpha tester, so I'll throw it here.

Draw me from the professional QA experience pool if you need more from this camp. Also, I haven't followed the development of AVWW2 even a single iota (other than the fact that it is happening), so there's that as well.

[Aklyon]

Its in ze first post, you need to pm tigersfan.