New ST Manual... ST 101

[DragonLilly]

I've decided to take the initiative to writting up a new manual that would be much more easy to understand from the newbs point of view...

If I can get some assistance in regards to a few articles needed that would be great...

please post any suggestions for ST 101 (the name for the new manual) on here - all input will be considered... and a few drafts will be posted before the final is completed and determined to be finished...

[mjx1]

Make sure the manpower of ship = points won/lost ratio is explained a lot of noobs get confused with why if theyve took out 250 fighters and there opponents took out 10 cruisers they lose
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"Although the constant shadow of certain death looms over everyday, the pleasures and joys of life can be so fine and deeply affecting that the heart is nearly stilled by astonishment" - Dean R Koontz

[srict]

I think what needs to be improved in this game is when people first register and start playing the game. I found this game through a friend, ronsta or holy crusader as we know him now and when i first saw the setup of the game i had no idea. HC spend half hour goin though the game till i finally started understanding it. I looked at the manual and showed stuff all and i think its a great idea to redo it. But i think something needs to be done when you first play like some sort of walk through showing the fleets menu and how to build ships, showing the probes menu. This is why most players last like 10 minutes. Not sure if that would be a lot of work but it would help new players stay with the game.

I also think all the noob helpers should be automatically put onto the com list when first starting or some sort of link to say who they are and how to contact them. I had no idea about the idea of a noob helper to about 6 weeks after i was playing.

[DragonLilly]

hey guys... thanks for your input I will place a section in the ST 101 that will explain what each screen does and how each screen is useful... I will also explain that (example) how 250 fighters have a total of 250 shots vs. only 10 shots from the 10 cruisers... I will go into great detail about this... any other suggestions please let me know...

I defiantly like the idea bout all newb helpers being automatically placed in your comlist but minus the coordinates of course

that is something admin would have to take care of thou...

[DragonLilly]

hey all this is the basic idea for the new manual... of course it won't have all the white area around it... and the menu's on both sides won't be identical but this is just a screen shot entered into paint so you all could get the idea of the set up...

[mjx1]

Wow that looks so much more inviting than the current manual DragonLily if we just reword the introduction and explain things in better detail and make things clearer practically anyone with minimum dreamweaver experience can piece together the rest hell ill do it if you want then all we have to do is send a polite email to the admin and ask him to host the new page instead
_________________
"Although the constant shadow of certain death looms over everyday, the pleasures and joys of life can be so fine and deeply affecting that the heart is nearly stilled by astonishment" - Dean R Koontz

[DragonLilly]

[Dinskydude]

[Senor]

you're starting this from the wrong end as usual. take a look at the manual. graphically it's easy to read and stylish. besides it goes together well with the overall look of spacetrace. don't change what already works!
if you want to make the manual better, then instead of doodling in paint, try to improve it's content value. more info, easier to read etc.

[DragonLilly]

@ DD - as I mentioned below the graphic - it was only a screenshot I entered into paint so you all could see it... I am not using paint to make the site... also mentioned below that pic that the menus WOULD NOT be the same... that was just to give an idea of the setup...

@ Senor - I'm not really sure who you were replying to... but I am not using paint... and as for not changing the look of the manual - I don't have editing rights to it nor do I have the grapics to make it IDENTICAL... I am planning on writing a whole new one up...

I know I'm not perfect but if someone else would like to invest the time I will be putting into this project be my guest... I will also be paying out of my pocket to host the manual when its finished... so if you wanna pay too be my guest... all of the free sites I looked into just did not provide enough free space for the total number of pages/space I would need... so therefore I have to pay to bring it up...

- I don't mind paying as I can use it for part of my portfolio... as I am also trying to learn a bit on my own and thats why I decided I could do this... but if you are all going to be so damn critical - you pay and spend the time... otherwise - give me pointers on how I can improve it... don't just criticize my efforts...

since it appears that many don't seem to like the new look - suggest what scheme you would like... i.e. background color, button color... pics etc... otherwise no input - I won't spend the time nor money to be criticized... At least I'm willing and trying but again won't do it for free only to be criticized...

[Holy Crusader]

[Senor]

@dragonL.

sorry if i sounded too harsh. what i meant was, i think the look of the current manual is very nice and does not need to be changed. maybe you could just work together with admin to put new content in the manual and maybe improve navigation.
i mean why waste time and energy on creating it from scratch when it would be more sensible to build on what we already have.

[Holy Crusader]

DL think the description of ships should b a bit better

for example

flying saucer (class 2 ship)
can provide a warp-field that cannot be used by other ships

attack/life: 10/5
manpower: 16

speed: warp 5
(can only establish a warpfield for itself)

researchtime: 1 d
buildingtime: 12 h


kazuuula-technology
needed research:
science recycle methods

I have no idea wat it does so never researched it. To me it looks like a ship tht can only fight by itself

To newbies (and me lol) i think the description can b confusin... idn but mayb could u stick an advantage/disadvantage with the ships like say what the good gainst and what there not... i no it says if there designed against c2 or c3 on most of them but its not always the case.

jus a suggestion.

[srict]

[zenachi]

There's a link under all the basic details which says "view details," this links you to another page which shows all the forum posts made about the technology (which also appears under Existing Technology in this forum).
Generally everything you need to know about that technology has already been asked/answered in those forum posts.

Reading the battle syntax is extremely helpful as well.
If you want to find out how things work, the best way is to try and invent your own technology/ship, the "wizard" that guides you through it is really well thought out/put together and I used it as a reference a bit. You don't have to invent something of course, just look at it, it explains how each command works in the syntax.

And I agree with Senor, it's the content that needs fixing more, the UI is fine...
The main part I think is the basics, the introduction, how to start, how to play, those sorts of things.
When I started, I read a bunch of stuff, but it still ends up being a trial and error thing occasionally, and learning from experience.

[admin]

brilliant idea.

the best way would be, that you create the texts for the manual and the layout separ#ately, so that we can connect it with the wiki somehow

we could even create a wiki page withous style, where you can use the wiki to create the new manual and include only the texts in your new manual frameset

[Durago]

i think the current manual is fine. it just needs a few better descriptions on a few items. maybe have a few pages added from passover text links. a few ships and researches are slightly vague in their descriptions. maybe add a few screen shots and maybe like a brief "walk-thru"
_________________
Trippin' Thru the Galaxy,
Spreadin' the Spores

[DragonLilly]

I need a logo made for the new ST manual...

neon green/black and silver(grey) is the theme of the site... don't worry about size as I can always adjust it to the page... and the title of it will be SpaceTrace 101... so lets get our creative thinking caps on and have some fun with this...

[admin]

[DragonLilly]