if u buy dom3...

[parone]

do u have to choose between download/hardcopy or can you download it and then receive the shrinkwrapped version(with all important manual) in the mail?

[brxbrx]

The manual is out of date, and there are torrents of it on the web if you really want it. Best to rely on the wiki.
Do the digital download. Fastest.

[Torin]

you can ask shrapnel. Perhaps you can have the manual. I find it nice to have physically

[Gandalf Parker]

Buying the hard copy gives you a 300 page manual that is spiral bound (it can lay flat). A 300 page PDF file can be hard to reference on some machines at the same time that you are playing the game. Also the hard copy gives you all 3 versions Linux, Windows, Mac in case that matters.

But the manual does lack the tons of changes that have been patched into the game since its release.

[parone]

wow. you'd think if they wanted $60 for a game that was 4 years old, they might be abl to have some $9/hr temp update the manual...

[brxbrx]

wow. you'd think if they wanted $60 for a game that was 4 years old, they might be abl to have some $9/hr temp update the manual...

You don't get it. The game has so much in it, nobody can give you the full rap on it. Even the devs have forgotten about functions they put in the game.

[parone]

hmm. me thinks my point stands none the less. besides, nobody said it had to have everything in it. just an up to date spell book and prerequisites for forging would be quite helpful.

i get it tho. they are hard at work on COE.

[Flop]

A lot of people play with the conceptual balance mod, which further changes spells and such. Even an updated manual would still be outdated by that mod.

Anyway, I still use the manual quite a bit, including the grimoire part. You can always double check on the wiki, or in the game.

If I were to buy the game again, I'd still choose a hard copy, just for manual. It's simply one of the best manuals I've ever read.

[parone]

thanks flop. that seals it

[Flop]

No problem. I hope you enjoy the game. :)

[Soyweiser]

do u have to choose between download/hardcopy or can you download it and then receive the shrinkwrapped version(with all important manual) in the mail?

Check these links:

http://dom3.servegame.com/wiki/
http://wolfsbane.alwaysdata.net/Spells.html

Then check Edi's DB. It tells more than the manual does.

[Hrum]

Then check Edi's DB. It tells more than the manual does.

Link to Edi's DB (Shrapnel thread):

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=42819
(Follow the link in the first post, and the latest version is actually 3.26.)

I find the wiki tremendously helpful, but as noted in one of Soyweiser's sig quotes, some players have been confused / frustrated by the fact that the stats listed for units on the wiki are not adjusted for the gear the unit is wearing. This is obvious to experienced players, but new players may not realize that when looking at (for example):

http://dom3.servegame.com/wiki/Abysian_Infantry_(Morningstar)

...The Abysian heavy infantry unit entry is showing the base protection and encumbrance of that unit as it would be naked (prot 0, enc 2) as well as the base defense (def 9). The unit you recruit in game will come equipped with gear, increasing the protection to something much better and the encumbrance to something much worse, and altering the defense as well (the equipped weapon also affects attack & def numbers, and again the wiki doesn't show you what that resulting stat is). You can check the unit stats in game to find out what the stats are as adjusted by the armor (& weapon) it's wearing, or if you don't have the game in front of you, you can check Edi's DB for the Plate Hauberk, Iron Cap & Tower Shield and do the math yourself. Unfortunately, the wiki doesn't currently have the armor and weapon stats.

The wiki is awesome, and I use it all the time, but it doesn't have everything so it takes a little familiarization to understand how it's presenting the unit data.