The Manual

[Ted1066]

Hey JJAX,

The tables are in the online manual. Right-click the question mark for the online manual and you get the tables - I found nearly all the tables from the boardgame in there. Also, even if you just bring up the regular online manual, the tables are near the end of it, before the leader bios.

Ted

[dauphan129]

Ha! If you guys think the Game Manual is hard to read you should try reading the rules to the actual board game. They had rules all over the place. You would read about something in section 6.6.5 but then in section 7.7.2 there would be an exception to the rule in 6.6.5 and only half of these blurbs were referenced. I think my group played the board game for about 6 years before we came close to getting the rules right. Then when we started getting this version we discovered we were not playing a few things correctly still[:'(]

Why don't one of you Wikki savy folks set up a Wikki and link it from the forum, if that is ok with the Matrix folks[&o]? Maybe they would be so kind as to make the link a sticky with some sort of "Matrix is not responsible for content" disclaimer or even a link on the webpage. I bet though that we get a better and better manual as scenarios and additional rules (like new political combinations) get added. This is version 1.0 and it is VERY TRUE to the boardgame over all. It is sad alot of folks who get this did not play the boardgame and are discovering that the manual is not perfect but as I said it is true to the board game.

Oh and Krasny, Es salaam aleikom.

[James Ward]

ORIGINAL: dauphan129

Ha! If you guys think the Game Manual is hard to read you should try reading the rules to the actual board game. They had rules all over the place. You would read about something in section 6.6.5 but then in section 7.7.2 there would be an exception to the rule in 6.6.5 and only half of these blurbs were referenced. I think my group played the board game for about 6 years before we came close to getting the rules right. Then when we started getting this version we discovered we were not playing a few things correctly still[:'(]

And then some new guys joins and brings in the Eratta sheets! [:)]

We used to call it Empires in Arguments but it is still the best multiplayer game I ever played [:D]

[Jimmer]

ORIGINAL: dauphan129

Why don't one of you Wikki savy folks set up a Wikki and link it from the forum, if that is ok with the Matrix folks[&o]? Maybe they would be so kind as to make the link a sticky with some sort of "Matrix is not responsible for content" disclaimer or even a link on the webpage. I bet though that we get a better and better manual as scenarios and additional rules (like new political combinations) get added. This is version 1.0 and it is VERY TRUE to the boardgame over all. It is sad alot of folks who get this did not play the boardgame and are discovering that the manual is not perfect but as I said it is true to the board game.

Oh and Krasny, Es salaam aleikom.

If someone sets this up, I will definitely help with the content. But, I don't know the first thing about setting up a WIKI (which is sad for a computer professional). Perhaps I need to learn.

[Krasny]

shalom dauphan!

i recently saw a video tutorial for the paradox game crusader kings (don't get me started on that game) on youtube

mayhap some kindly genius could make one for EiA?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7vXXKXQSSU

[Murat]

Do NOT do it like that guy. the whole tutorial ends because he made like 10 playing errors during it and lost the game.

[zaquex]

ORIGINAL: Ted1066

Hey JJAX,

The tables are in the online manual. Right-click the question mark for the online manual and you get the tables - I found nearly all the tables from the boardgame in there. Also, even if you just bring up the regular online manual, the tables are near the end of it, before the leader bios.

Ted

Its right there is a manual in game but sadly its a pain to use, imo it needs to be either better referenced or there need to be a short version. What I mostly want is a "order of play and tables" in a very compressed form - this will help new players not to forget things and do stuff in the correct order. If they are unsecure about any specific rule they should still consult the manual.

Another thing that would be helpfull is the national cards the boardgame comes with that have an overview of each powers corps etc. It would be very helpful in learning the differences and strenght between the different countries armies without having to start up the game with every power and therefore alow new players to more easily get in to the game.

[therockyfroggy]

I don't know if I'm insane since I really don't have the time, but on top of reading and trying to understand this game, I'm also reading and trying to understand Crusader Kings, Forge of Freedom, and the new Harpoon release. I keep getting into one manual and thinking about a different one. Thankfully, the expansion for WITP was announced cause I was about to buy that but now will just wait until then.....hopefully I can decipher these other games by then.

[Krasny]

Do NOT do it like that guy. the whole tutorial ends because he made like 10 playing errors during it and lost the game.

his first glaring error was to say one of the three religions in the game was protestantism

but on the whole the video tutorial format works well

[Cheesehead]

Is it possible to download the board game rules? I looked on the a-d-g website and saw downloadable rules for WiF, but not for EiA?? Would it help to understand the board game before you tackle the computer version? I haven't purchased the game yet as I'm too busy playing WiF. I will buy it eventually, but as I've never played the board game I would like to know that I can learn the computer version without too much frustration.

Thanks

John

[tgb]

ORIGINAL: Cheesehead

Is it possible to download the board game rules? I looked on the a-d-g website and saw downloadable rules for WiF, but not for EiA?? Would it help to understand the board game before you tackle the computer version? I haven't purchased the game yet as I'm too busy playing WiF. I will buy it eventually, but as I've never played the board game I would like to know that I can learn the computer version without too much frustration.

Thanks

John

You can find them with a little help from Google, but without the boardgame in front of you they are very confusing. I tried reading them a couple of weeks ago, and they only made my head hurt.

Buy the game and play it a couple of times with the manual open in front of you. Come here with any WTF? questions, and within a week you should have it down, pretty much.

I think the learning curve for EiA is blown way out of proportion, compared to, say, some of the Paradox games (Vicky, HoI).

[Jimmer]

ORIGINAL: Murat

Do NOT do it like that guy. the whole tutorial ends because he made like 10 playing errors during it and lost the game.

How does one make a video like that? What kind of equipment is needed?

The reason I ask is because I am willing to do the same, and I won't quit simply because I played poorly. In fact, in a tutorial, that's the whole idea: Show how things work. I've always understood that the best way to learn is to try (and fail), and then try again.

[Cheesehead]

OK, I managed to figure out HoI without too much trouble, so that is encouraging. Thank you.

John

[GShock]

I used to play EiA in another life, years and years ago...forgot the rules. Bought this game, and the manual aye...ehm...i'm pretty lost.

I second the Wiki page. Best method to put the community at work on the manual and uses no Dev-resources leaving them free to patch the game and get us new goodies.

[twb3]

Try this link for the EinA boargame rules: http://eia.xnetz.com/

[Frank McNally]

Why not allow for the manual to the computer game to be a free download?  Unlike to board game rules a pc game manual is practically worthless without the game.

[tgb]

ORIGINAL: Frank McNally

Why not allow for the manual to the computer game to be a free download? Unlike to board game rules a pc game manual is practically worthless without the game.

Because unlike a board game, it is relatively easy to get a computer game without paying for it.

[Grognot]

There's a lot for the boardgame version at http://eia.xnetz.com/ and EiH stuff at http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/eih/ .

But yes, until you've played for a while from different angles (like playing the Turks with their feudal corps; or defending Russia against a Pr-Au-Tu assault -- seen this happen in EiA, doomed by winter, distances, and a Fr player who wasn't sufficiently distracted by UK or Spain; attempting to invade Russia (good for learning about foraging and supply chains...); or playing Austria and desperately looking for friends) it can take a while.

EiANW, while its user interface is frequently non-intuitive, at least simplifies certain things like doing math and bookkeeping for you, and preventing outright rules violations (modulo bugs), so you're unlikely to learn to play incorrectly.

I think the 1812 Campaign would have made an interesting tutorial -- mano-a-mano, so a bit simpler, but large enough to teach about supply rules, winter, and the strategic decision of whether and when to actually offer battle.

[GShock]

Actually cheese, as the game manual prompts at the very beginning, it was impossible to make everyone happy and the game manages some things slightly differently from how they are managed in the boardgame, of course. Now i guess the real deal would be to build a good manual, possibly in wiki with the help of us all, especially the boardgame of EiA gurus so that any adaptation can be tackled by both the community and the Dev(s). This manual must be the game manual, Matrix has all interest in selling this game to everyone not just the EiA players. Since the game has just come out there's plenty of time for everyone to learn, and wiki is particularly useful when you need to "patch". [;)]

Wiki can be "patched" in a moment, while PDF needs a lil bit more work.

[rossmck]

Having been an 'expert' at the board game for many years, I find the interface a little difficult to quickly pick up in comparison to many other computer games. I am really happy with it finally being here especially after the entire crew of us have been watching this forum for 2 years waiting for it to come out, but I am hoping we can do better not at a EIA manual, but more of the computer interface manual.

More a 'How to do .... ' guide, especially for all of us who know what they want to do, just not where to click to do it.


Ross.