Totally Lost and I don't mean location...

[Wowzery]

This is the closest I came to an instructional video.  But it might help.  Sorry about the sound, was still working on mic distance.

 

[Mooncatt]

On 5/21/2020 at 7:18 PM, Norbert Sattler said:

Oh you can sure learn a lot from an extrensive manual... but only if you are willing to read it.
The problem is that even with the comparetively few pages that are currently in the game right now, people do not read that and instead come ask in the forum (or complain).
If a couple of paragraphs are already too much reading for some people, do you think they'll be willing to read dozens or hundreds of pages?

Don't get me wrong, I would appreciate a nice manual like you, but I am pragmatic enough to realize that we are in the minority here and that a manual alone will not solve the issue. A tutorial is most likely the better choice. Though if we could get both a manual and ingame tutorials that would be best.

I agree, I play DCS (digital combat sim) there is a bit of a voice tutorial and its done very well indeed. but, theres a ton of stuff to learn. I had to hand write my own tutorial just figure out how to get the aircraft started!! I come from the days, as mentioned above when the handbook was over a hundred pages long. people these days aren't willing to read them. they want someone to hold their hand, its not a bad thing as it makes it a hundred times easier but it does take away the satisfaction of when you get it right when its something you've learnt yourself rather than a visual/voice tutorial.

[Macker]

Hello. I bought this game a few months ago when it first came out, but I waited to play until it matured a bit. While waiting, I learned from a real pro - Stealth17 Gaming. Watch some of his videos and you'll certainly learn enough to get started. From there you can experiment and ask questions in the forum. Best of luck!

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2mwsE-87Hfh9ZmSrqBqNIg

[DougToss]

A 100+ page manual for this title would be incredible, and if they are allowed to preview the game, I'm sure there would be no shortage of naval historians willing to contribute to the manual, UI and in-game encyclopedia. 

Explaining analogue fire control systems like the Dumaresq is hard! It's also vital for players to understand how fire control systems work, why more technologically advanced ones are superior, and how ship designs changed to accommodate them. Even simple things like why opposing fleets would maintain a steady speed and course while exchanging gunfire, where they would be intuitively expected to be evading all the while. (Because their chance of hitting the enemy relied on them doing so, making up one half of the calculations for fire control,  and enemies using the same fire control equipment would also have to maintain course and speed!)

That's the kind of thing players need to be told, because it took trained naval officers decades to figure it out. 

e: At 400 pages, the Distant Guns manual tells you pretty much everything you could want to know about how to play the game (in a time before good UI mind you!) and explains the context, tactics, doctrine and technology of the Russo-Japanese War in incredible detail. Well worth a read for players of this title too!

If you have an interest in 1900-10 pre- and semi-dreadnoughts, it's a great read. The demo of the game is free, and if you can get over the UI, is worth comparing to SA:D. There are a lot of features and details of the combat I'd like to see in SA:D eventually, and the work they put into realism is really striking.

Edited May 25, 2020 by DougToss