Heh yep, there was one I played - I can't remember what the title was - but it used every key and had a dozen more that you had to hit shift of alt to get at. How you were supposed to remember all that when AIMs and Sidewinders were flying at you I have no idea. F19 Stealth Fighter on the ST came with a nice fold out sheet that went around your keyboard so you could tell at a glance what everything did, that made life easier. Thick manuals still beat a scrappy pdf you have to print off into a foot wide manual or read till your eyes pop out on the screen though.

I love those huge manuals, they really give the impression that a game has alot of content.

The first thing I always do when I get a new game, is open the manual, and start reading whatever interesting stuff they put in it. The best ones are those with alot of backstory in them. I love reading up on the story in a game, and I also love reading about all of the great features the game has.

In my opinion, a game feels very "cheap," if they don't even bother to write a decent manual. The initial impression means alot, I want to be sure it is a great game I'm playing. And a good manual gives a great impression! :D

I love the manuals..they not only told you how to play the game almost completely they had lots of bonus features and good reading.

Now your lucky if your game has an in program tutorial.

I remember with great nostalgia the manuals of Ultima VII and Ultima Underworld. Those were the days! :ok:

I do miss the manuals.
One of the best manuals I ever had was of Carrier Command for the ST. It explained everything in the game, every little button and icon, every action. They just don't make them like that anymore.
Another manual that I was impressed with was Civilization II(don't remember which version of all, I had them all) which had a very book like manual.
KKND had a good manual if nothing else for the humour in it :D
When I get a game with a good manual in it I feel I am getting something good for my money. Even if later I do not even touch the game (Hearts Of Iron).

Hmm, I also remember the manual for F16 Combat Pilot (ST). What a game, what a sim! Hmm, what a game for abandonia!

I just found my BIG Civilization 2 manual :D

Y same, most of the time theres a tutorial anyways, and if not, its normally not too easy to figure out....
*Looks at his Civ 2/3 Manual and Alpha Centauria Manual/Walkthorough for bolth expansion pack and game*
weee....

Age of Empires 2 manual = Quality. Full of facts and things. Got me an A in my year 7 history exam :D

Thats cool, ya if I remember right the AoE2 manual was pretty cool, I remember looking at it at a friends house.