Writing a new manual

[Word]

What do you think belongs in a pdf guide that explains the basics of the game?
1. Can we include some wiki texts?
2. Does anyone like to help out with illustrations/texts?
3. Shall we include a short fortress introduction?
4. Where should this guide be accessible (in the zip file/on the main site etc)?
5. Should there be a short text about 'playing open'? (that's just my personal opinion )
6. Who volunteers to translate stuff?

I assume we are doing this for all post-2.7.1-versions (180s).

[Lackadaisical]

I was thinking this could be included on the new main site.

[sinewav]

Keep it as simple as possible. No Fortress. I wouldn't even include explanations of double binding or rubber. Just showing people the basics will make a manual longer than most people want to read. And seriously, if they want to now more, close the manual with links to the wiki.

Speaking of basics, this is what I think a player should know:

How to turn, speed up, and brake.
How to change their name and color.
How to join an online game.
How to chat.

That's it. And all of this should fit on a single page with illustrations! Think "quick start guide."

Related: Does the newest build on the website have that first-time set-up thing Z-Man wrote a few months ago? You now, the thing that explains turning and chat and all that?
But since this is a .pdf, we can link to more detailed explanations of each of the things on the first page by simply adding a link that says something like "more on this topic".

I'd write and illustrate the whole thing myself, but I don't have a lot of time right now. Maybe in a few weeks.

[Phytotron]

If someone's going to do this, there does need to be an explanation of the game's basic concept. From the old documentation:

The rules are simple: you ride a lightcycle, a kind of motorbike that can only turn 90 degrees at a time, leaves a wall behind and cannot be stopped. Avoid running into a wall while trying to make your opponent run into a wall. Just in case you do not know: this idea is stolen from the Disney movie "Tron" from 1982.

Acceleration is possible by driving close to player walls, be it your own wall or the wall of your enemy. Every time you make a turn, you lose a little bit of your speed, so don't be too nervous; speed is your only resource against other players!

This is what used to come with the game, and something similar should be included in the future:

[MikeyW]

"speed is your only resource" is a bit weird... I bet most beginners die because they have too much speed in the first place.

[Phytotron]

It doesn't say "high speed." Speed can be fast or slow.

I do think that whole description could be better reworded. It was just an example of what needs to be included, should someone pick this up.

[Word]

http://www.amazon.com/Sourceforge-Games ... 361&sr=8-1

this description is strange

[Tank Program]

I don't think I've ever heard such a complete description that relies on the reader never having heard of the movie Tron before.

Also, I never would have guessed that we'd be mentioned on Amazon in any way, shape, or form.

[syllabear]

Also, they say some servers allow 180 degree turns or none at all... which is not possible.

[Lord Pein]

I was thinking of writing a guide to simple commands (team management commands and basic console commands) if you would like to include it when I am finished.

[AI-team]

That does already exist.
Let me look for the link.

[Phytotron]

Also, they say some servers allow 180 degree turns or none at all... which is not possible.

Probably referring to the effect of double-binding in servers with low CYCLE_DELAY (which shouldn't be possible ).


There is one thing I want to point out about both the old Arma description I quoted, as well as that one on Amazon, and that's the use of the phrase "close to walls." Too vague. Alongside and/or parallel need to be included in such a statement. There must also be the specificity about it being player walls, not outer walls—the one I quoted makes that distinction, but the Amazon one does not. (And while I'm on the subject, any phrase along the lines of "speed up by grinding" should not be used.)

[Word]

lol, i just searched on google for this text to see if i find a full version somewhere. it's a copy of the first part of the wikipedia article. maybe you like to correct it so the next issue of this book is better too?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armagetron_Advanced

[Tobe]

Also, they say some servers allow 180 degree turns or none at all... which is not possible.

They might be talking about ARENA_AXES 2 for 180 degrees and 1 for none.

[Phytotron]

lol, i just searched on google for this text to see if i find a full version somewhere. it's a copy of the first part of the wikipedia article. maybe you like to correct it so the next issue of this book is better too?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armagetron_Advanced

Yeah, there's plenty on that wikipedia page that needs correction, as I've pointed out before. It is Wikipedia, after all.

"Next issue" of what "book?"

Also, they say some servers allow 180 degree turns or none at all... which is not possible.

They might be talking about ARENA_AXES 2 for 180 degrees and 1 for none.

Or whomever wrote that doesn't quite understand what degrees and axes mean, and/or worded it clumsily. It is Wikipedia, after all.

I guess we'll never know what was meant unless whomever wrote that up reveals himself and explains it. (But who really cares?)