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A gift to you - The KAG Instruction Booklet

Discussion in 'Classes & Mechanics' started by SirSalami, Sep 18, 2011.

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  1. SirSalami

    SirSalami THD Team THD Team Administrator

    Messages:
    301
    Updated 01/04/12 - Click here to view latest version! (Best viewed in Firefox)
    -------------------------------------------------------
    I'm excited to say, i can finally give something back to the community in the form of an old-school, snes style instruction booklet! It is a labor of love, and I hope you guys enjoy it.

    You can view the latest version at the top of this post.

    I'm very open to any feedback you guys may have. Any corrections or suggestions you have will be greatly appreciated. I would especially like a new screenshot for the introduction page, the more action the better!

    My hope is that eventually, this document can be positioned in a place where newbies can read and learn about the game before playing. Your support will help this happen i'm sure!

    Again, i sincerely hope you enjoy it, and thank you!

    -SirSalami
    -------------------------------------------------------
    Update 12-2-11 - This manual can now be viewed in-game via the main menu. Thank you everyone!
     
  2. dwatring

    dwatring KAG Guard Tester

    Messages:
    277
    Wow. This is fantastic. I would like to see this added to install.
     
  3. crodude

    crodude Shipwright

    Messages:
    19
    Indeed, fantastic. Explains the game's basics very well and is fun to read.
     
    dwatring likes this.
  4. Contrary

    Contrary The Audacious Paramount of Explosive Flight Donator Tester

    Messages:
    2,196
    That's awesome! This should come printed with the game if it's ever available physically.
     
    Ourous and dwatring like this.
  5. dwatring

    dwatring KAG Guard Tester

    Messages:
    277
    Should be used instead of the current tutorial image.
     
  6. kiro

    kiro Garde KAG Donator Tester

    Messages:
    241
    Wait a sec, I need to pick up my jaw...

    Ok, back. This is insane. It must have taken you hours ! This looks great, it should be put on the website (it could be, it's a .htm) :D
     
    Piano likes this.
  7. dwatring

    dwatring KAG Guard Tester

    Messages:
    277
    Remember the good ol' days of buying games from a store? You always read the game manual in the car.
     
    Piano, Doc22, Rubixxcube and 6 others like this.
  8. Neat

    Neat King of the Dead Donator Tester

    Messages:
    1,958
    This is absolutely incredible stuff, excellent work. It would be awesome to have a solid copy, let alone get it put into the actual game itself!
     
  9. Hapistorique

    Hapistorique KAG Guard Tester

    Messages:
    87
    It's amazing, I like the fact that you use a lot of image
    It's nicely done, it's nearly feels like reading a snes manual :)
     
  10. who

    who Shopkeep Stealer

    Messages:
    161
    omg
    This is amazing!
     
  11. illu

    illu En Garde! Donator Tester

    Messages:
    737
    Sry to start with the criticism - I really appreciate your efforts - but pls: Is there any valuable reason to pack that booklet into an executable file? I mean it's just a "html"-file with some images afaik.
    VirusTotal shows me four (most propably falsepositive) hits (trojandropper, exploit, etc.), some packer detector tools show me stuff like "ASProtect" and "Armadillo" - seriously what's the reason for this? What do you want to hide?
    As I understand it, this booklet is not finished, you want our feedback, you want to improve it and correct typos, etc. Releasing a simple html file with some images (only saw the images since thats all I could rip from the exectuable) in an suspicious "exe"-file is - to put it mildly - counter-productive. I know it can be easier and maybe more noob-friendly to pack everything inside an exectuable-installer to move and copy and stuff everything the way you want to - but seriously: After all it's just a simple document. It could be a pdf-file, a word file...or just a bunch of jpgs.

    Sry for my rant but (based on my earlier experience) I'm quite sensitive with random executables in the web.
    So pls just release it in a simple zip-/rar-file. :)
     
  12. SirSalami

    SirSalami THD Team THD Team Administrator

    Messages:
    301
    Illu, i can completely understand your concern. So, here [updated: see OP] is a zip for you and others who may have similar concerns. The .exe literally contains the same exact files as the .zip. I simply thought it'd be a little more user-friendly as an exe, i'm definitely not trying to hide anything!

    I can promise you that the files contained in all versions are free of malware etc. I'm sorry to see that it has some false-positives, but it's hard to get around that now-a-days.

    Regarding the packaging, the pages of the manual are all rather large images that may load up strangely on slow connections due to the javascript library i'm using for the page effects you'll see if you decide to view the manual.

    The intent, in the future, is to render all of the text in html and reuse as many small images as possible, to greatly reduce the file size / load time when reading it online. This will take me some time however, because the formatting will be a bit of a pain in comparison to how i originally created the layout. Also, i've always considered a pdf version since i began the project, so that may still happen in the future, once it gets a bit more finalized.

    I hope this explains the situation a little bit. Thank you for your concern!
     
    Piano, EchoLynx and illu like this.
  13. czubai

    czubai KAG Guard Tester

    Messages:
    173
    I did wonder why it's an .exe file too, but oh well. My antivirus didn't say anything about it.

    Anyway, a great work, that's a pretty professional manual IMO. The wording, images and overall information presentation are spot on. Although I do have a few minor suggestions on how to improve it :

    - Pretty sure a drawbridge block costs 10 wood, not 20.
    - The 'wall slide' image could use the 'A' keyboard button image to indicate you have to press the direction aganist the wall to slide. Same for loading yourself up on the catapult (F key).
    - I'd change the bullion description.. "A way to store gold" or something along these lines seems better. "Stores gold" might be a bit mis-leading.
    - I know it's supposed to be simple, but double slash is not explained at all and it's a pretty basic knight 'skill'. Might wanna do that.
    - Same goes for this one, but you might want to put some emphasis on workers being able to destroy blocks fast too. Also could mention something about them securing the battlefield as the warriors are pushing. Right now the description kind of encourages minecrafting. ;p
     
    SirSalami likes this.
  14. dwatring

    dwatring KAG Guard Tester

    Messages:
    277
    Stuff I noticed:
    On page 13, it doesn't explain the +30 stone block.
    I'm pretty sure walls and ladders are 2 stone/wood respectively. (I could be wrong)
    On page 6, it lists the minimap builder icon as 'engineer'. Could be confusing for new players.
    The cover looks a little 'off' in my opinion. Any plans on that being changed?

    Other than these, the booklet is fantastic.
     
    SirSalami and czubai like this.
  15. SirSalami

    SirSalami THD Team THD Team Administrator

    Messages:
    301
    Thanks for the corrections guys! I'll definitely make the corrections soon and post them here.

    Regarding the builder description: I was hoping i emphasized their need to leave the base, but perhaps i could be more direct. Also, i'll probably add the fact that they are good at demolition into their description as well.

    Regarding the tips section: The original version actually had the keyboard icons for each tip, but i found it looked cluttered. Also, i like the idea of leaving some stuff vague to encourage some experimentation by the player in-game, hopefully leading to a sense of accomplishment. Maybe i'm over-thinking it :).

    Regarding the cover: I know what you mean by it looking a bit "off" dwatring. I'm definitely not an illustrator, but i did my best. I'll surely keep working on it. The shading needs work especially. I'm sure Geti will eventually come up with something much nicer that i'll cut n' paste if he lets me. In case you're wondering where the idea came from, check this out.

    Also, I'm really happy you guys seem to like this. It's nice to see that people still enjoy a game manual as much as I used to when i was younger. Thank you!!!
     
  16. poe

    poe Shopkeep Stealer

    Messages:
    29
    Didn't want to download but I did, this is lovely! I added it to my server so people can view it online :D
    http://dp.x10.mx/kagbook/
     
    SirSalami likes this.
  17. Wargod-Loki

    Wargod-Loki Haxor

    Messages:
    298
    thanks poe that we can watch it online now, aswell i see now thats a lovely piece of work you did there Salami, great work, the first game manual i wasnt bored to read ;)
     
  18. illu

    illu En Garde! Donator Tester

    Messages:
    737
    First of all this really is some amazing booklet you've made :). Must have been hard work.
    I really like the art style and the texts. It's also nice that not every tiny uneccessary bit is explained but that you still leave some stuff out so the player can figure it out by himself. But still it illustrates everything which is needed to start right into the game.

    I can really imagine this guide getting added to the game.

    Some typos/suggestions (don't be surprised - I'm an perfection whore :p):
    • page II:
      - change "The Units" to "The Classes"
      - "Tips" start at "XVI" and not at "XV"
      - "Premium" is at "XIX" and not at "XVII"
      - "Credits" is at "XX" and not at "XVIII"
    • page II: remove the comma after "strategy"
    • page III:
      - change "Block Select" to "Select Block"
      - according to the changelogs the default key for switching teams is [ALT] now (and change "Team Select" to "Switch Teams")
    • page IV: the dot under "Help" should be in the same line I guess
    • page V:
      - change "Explosives" to "Bombs"
      - change "Engineer" to "Builder"
      - add a bit more space between the left emotes and the right emotes
    • page VI:
      - at "Swordfights": change "kills" to "skills" and "continously" to "continuously"
      - change "Capture the flag" to "Capture The Flag"
      - at "Capture the flag": change "thier" to "their"
    • page VII:
      - change "thier" to "their"
      - change "explosive" to "bomb" (same on page VIII) [MM called them bombs all the time]
    • page IX: change "battlefild" to "battlefield"
    • page XI:
      - change "persaverance" to "perseverance"
      - change "thier" to "their"
    • page XIV:
      - ladder only costs 2 wood
      - wall only costs 2 stone
      - change "Boullion" to "Gold Bullion"
      - change "Catapault" to "Catapult" (same on page XV and page XVIII)
    • page XIX: change "recieve" to "receive"
     
  19. tlc2011

    tlc2011 Base Burner

    Messages:
    407
    Hold on, let me pick up my jaw which is currently on the floor. [picks jaw up]

    This is awesomness.
     
    SMASH1413 likes this.
  20. Monsteri

    Monsteri Slower Than Light Tester

    Messages:
    1,916
    When you fix what illu mentioned, this must be added into the game! Perhaps it would be even possible to implement it into the game itself, not like the current tutorial, so it would point out more? Every time we get a new wave of players I see so much noobyness, and have to help out at least one guy in every server. Main Menu>Tutorial as like Poe made it?
     
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