How many people would volunteer for re-writing the manual?

[earwicker7]

It seems to be a given amongst most of the members here that the manual is extremely out-of-date. Unfortunately, the general feeling seems to be, "It is what it is, nothing can be done about it."

However, I feel that something can be done, it just needs enough people to help out. My belief is that twenty people, willing to commit to half-an-hour a day, could get it ironed out in a few months. You could have simple goals, like "This week, we need you to check Evocation 1 spells; write down what is in the manual, write down what is in the game description, write down what the wiki says, then when you have all of this, post all of it in your thread (each "subject" would have it's own thread) and get feedback from the veteran players on what is wrong and what is right."

How many of you would be interested in helping out? I would be doing this for the vanilla version, as I think mods would really complicate things.

[Gandalf Parker]

If you mean editing the manual, as in updating the PDF file version, that would be a bit of a problem I think.

But if someone wanted to rewrite the manual or write an addendum, they can. Make it a PDF and make it available for download. They can even upload it to a PoD site (print on demand) so that people can buy it in a book form. It costs nothing to do, just uploading the pdf. They can even mark up the price a dollar or two so they get something for their labor on every one that sells.

You could even have a CBM version which might go over well.

[earwicker7]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Parker

If you mean editing the manual, as in updating the PDF file version, that would be a bit of a problem I think.

But if someone wanted to rewrite the manual or write an addendum, they can. Make it a PDF and make it available for download. They can even upload it to a PoD site (print on demand) so that people can buy it in a book form. It costs nothing to do, just uploading the pdf. They can even mark up the price a dollar or two so they get something for their labor on every one that sells.

You could even have a CBM version which might go over well.

So how much of the original could be used without infringement? Could the basic outline (for example, Missile Combat comes before Special Damage and after Melee Combat) be used and just reworded?

[Gandalf Parker]

I dont know but I suspect that the answer would have multiple levels on how much before negotiations with many parties would be needed.
HOW MUCH:
A) before making it worth a legal action
B) before crossing the legal line (usually much lower level than A)
C) before making Shrapnel mad
D) before making Illwinter mad
E) before making the community mad and generating so much argument that it blows the volunteers off of the project

Its usually not just one line to cross so before it can be answered it requires knowing which line is too much to cross

[thejeff]

A simpler and maybe more effective approach might be just to make an errata document. Maybe even just a section on the wiki.

That shouldn't be infringing, would be a much smaller project and more useful than trying to replicate everything in the manual that's right.

[earwicker7]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Parker

I dont know but I suspect that the answer would have multiple levels on how much before negotiations with many parties would be needed.
HOW MUCH:
A) before making it worth a legal action
B) before crossing the legal line (usually much lower level than A)
C) before making Shrapnel mad
D) before making Illwinter mad
E) before making the community mad and generating so much argument that it blows the volunteers off of the project

Its usually not just one line to cross so before it can be answered it requires knowing which line is too much to cross

It would be interesting to know what kind of legality is involved when the thing being modified is incorrect... is it plagiarism, or correction? For example, if I'm building a computer, and the motherboard manual has errors that could cause you to fry your CPU, am I crossing a line by posting an edited version of the manual with the incorrect stuff edited out, and the correct information added it?

I'm not really wanting to make any money off this, so hopefully that would give me leeway.

[thejeff]

If you post that the manual has an error and what the correct version is, that falls under fair use. If you post the entire manual, just to correct one small (if important) section, you are infringing.

If you're not making money, you will likely just face a take down notice, not actual financial damages, but I wouldn't rely too heavily on that.

[Gandalf Parker]

And like many things about this game, while everyone seems to agree that there are some, when it comes down to pinpointing specifics it gets alittle bit fuzzy. So a generally agreed on glaring error could be used to open the door. But then comes the "formula vs feel" arguments, or the filling in things that were purposely left out, Not to mention adding in patched information in the same style.

Im not arguing for or against. Im just pointing out that the trouble might come from something that is not considered to be only a correction. What one side calls "the thing being modified is incorrect" might not be considered that way by the other side.

[earwicker7]

Here's an example of what I (and my volunteers... there is no way I can do this alone lol) would post in our search for the "correct" version:

ORDER/TURMOIL:

The manual states that Order increases income by 7%, and causes 5% fewer random events. Turmoil has the opposite effect, decreasing income by 7%, and causing 5% more random events. This appears to be correct, based on in-game pretender generation. Can anyone think of any other effects that Order/Turmoil have?

At this point, I would wait for feedback, and once a general consensus was reached, I'd put the effects in a table, along with the other scale effects. The idea is to go for a thorough examination, not a quick one.

[Gandalf Parker]

That would be different than correcting errors.

Not that Im trying to overlap threads, but wouldnt that seem to be wiki territory?

The only rewrite Id push for would be someone rewriting the .map files for the maps that were provided with the game to smooth the road for newbie games.