Hello.

NOTE: I wasn't sure which category this fit in. If someone sees a fitting category by all means please move it there.

I can't think of a software developer whose end products I like so much with documentation that is so poor.

Please let me add, beyond being an avid player of both computer and board games for 40 years, I also spent 30 years in IT in a variety of positions (as an operator, developer, tester and document writer). So I think it is fair to say I have above average knowledge on the subject.

Forcing customers to look through multiple forums, wikis, tutorials, player made guides and videos to find answers to questions is absurd. Player made materials of this type should be a bonus not a necessity. There should and needs to be a single document for each of your games (with linked index, contents and dictionary of terms) that is kept up to date with both fixes and expansions.

Personally, this has been by far my biggest complaint with all of your products to date.

Thank you.

Hi.

It appears you posted a link to the original manual which wasn't even adequate when the game was released 4 years ago. 

I'm not sure I understand why. Are you trying to help prove my point?

ykroon132 wrote:

Forcing customers to look through multiple forums, wikis, tutorials, player made guides and videos to find answers to questions is absurd.

Agreed. I think the game could use a way to see more information in-game. Sadly, I don't think this problem is going to be addressed.

Sublustris wrote:

You are delusional, if you think it's fiseable or even rational to make comprehansive up-to-date documentation-guide for massive, constantly changing and updated 4X strategy game, such as this. I find that basic manual is more then sufficient to introduce uninitiated user to basic mechanics of the base game. The rest, as you say, is "bonus not a necessity ".

Part of the fun playing video games is figuring out how to play it better.

No, I am not delusional. Being rude in your reply does not enhance your statement or it's validity. It is not only reasonable, but normal and expected for a software product to be fully documented. The more complex, the more fluid the product, the more it is necessary. The 4 year old "base" manual failed to address many things even when it was new. Your reference to "bonus" material is taken out of context and loses it's meaning as you use it.

I think you are confusing strategy with rules and technical aspects. I would agree figuring out the first is enjoyable, the later is frustrating and time consuming.

I admit that our documentation is not in a great state, and even the supplementary material some has brought up is often not sufficient.

However, I am not confident we can bring the official manual accessible through Steam up to date at this point. I hope we will do better in the future, as for games as complex as 4X games a good manual is vital in my opinion.

To add to this: the fastest way to get information, is usually just to ask in the official EL discord channel. There is a small community of helpful people that usually answers in short time (some hours max.). 4x games, as they are near the end of their lifespan, tend to be community driven, so I think its okay this way.

The tutorial/help that was added for ES2 would be very nice for EL however. I just started EL and i am a bit lost haha.