Author Topic: Mini Strat Guide  (Read 2822 times)

Offline Quitch

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Mini Strat Guide
« on: June 10, 2009, 06:42:16 pm »
On the tutorials screen you link to your FAQ of incredibly useful --l should be in the manual if it existed -- information. Except I never saw it because the tutorial screen labels it as a mini-strat guide and I didn't want any spoilers. In a game like this mastering the system IS the game.

However, it turns out it's less of a strat guide and more of a Questions About the Game. Perhaps this is just an oddity of my personality, but I think something which indicates it's manual-esque status would make it a link more likely to be visited. There is some very useful information here.

Offline x4000

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Re: Mini Strat Guide
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2009, 06:47:32 pm »
Hmm, you raise a good point.  A lot of people seem to stay away from that, which surprises me sometimes, and I think you may be right on why.  Really what it is is a Manual / Mini Strategy Guide / FAQ / Knowlegebase.

That page is getting pretty huge as it stands already, though.  I wonder if it should be turned into a Wiki and renamed to "AI War Wiki (Manual & FAQ)?"  Or something along those lines?  I'm going to look into setting up a Wiki either way, because I think it's the most effective way to present this growing list of info, but let me know what you think about a possible name for it that wouldn't scare you away. :)
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Offline Quitch

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Re: Mini Strat Guide
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2009, 06:49:09 pm »
It might be worth moving it off the tutorial page and into that blank button space on the front page. It still appears after the tutorials that way, but you draw attention to it.

Offline x4000

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Re: Mini Strat Guide
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2009, 06:51:49 pm »
It might be worth moving it off the tutorial page and into that blank button space on the front page. It still appears after the tutorials that way, but you draw attention to it.

Could be... but that blank button space is actually "Check For Updates."  It's blanked out in Impulse only, because the impulse client itself delivers the updates there.  I could rename the Tutorial button to "Tutorial / Manual" or something, though.  Or "Tutorial / Wiki."  Also, I'm shortly going to be adding a new button on the main menu for "High Scores & Achievements" anyway, so I'm really out of room as far as buttons go unless I make them shorter (which would probably be overwhelming due to the sheer volume of buttons).
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Offline Quitch

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Re: Mini Strat Guide
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2009, 06:58:43 pm »
Ah, that's why I didn't recall it  :-[

Offline x4000

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Re: Mini Strat Guide
« Reply #5 on: June 11, 2009, 10:19:03 am »
Okay, that Mini Strategy Guide has now been turned into a Wiki.  On the main site sidebar I am now calling it "Manual /FAQ Wiki."  I think that I will call it the same thing in the game itself.  While not technically a manual, this wiki is going to be the core knowledgebase and FAQ for anything to do with the game that the tutorials and in-game tips don't already explain. Let me know what you all think!
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Offline Quitch

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Re: Mini Strat Guide
« Reply #6 on: June 11, 2009, 03:59:05 pm »
Perhaps it's just me, but I much prefer being able to get everyone on one page.

Offline x4000

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Re: Mini Strat Guide
« Reply #7 on: June 11, 2009, 04:18:31 pm »
At the rate I'm expanding it, and with all the plans I have for expanding it, it just wasn't feasible anymore.  That page was already getting too huge, and I've added another 20% to it today alone.  Wikis seem to be the wave of the future, though (not even that new, now), and this will allow me to add even more detail and sub-articles when need be to specific ships and topics.  The mines and mine remains are all on one page, for instance.

The other nice benefit for this approach is that it is so much easier for me to quickly add content to, so the likelihood of having an up-to-date guide gets that much higher. :)  With the other guide it took a lot of manual fanagaling and scrolling around in a ridiculously-long source document, and that was not particularly conductive to frequent detailed updates...
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