Q's about Vel's Guide for Smax

Comstr · June 23, 2002, 07:32

Couple of questions about http://www.booksurge.com/author.php3...ntID=GRTU00118 (some are related only to me so are probably unanswereable though).

Q1 - Anyone here bought it?

. I assume someone here has, but there's only 4 reviews on it at the site and they tell me pretty much BUY THIS. Gee.

Q2- How Different it is from his version 3 guide at gamefaq's? The example text is an excat copy it would seem. Is much added, or is just a matter of cleaning it up with proper paragraphs, and removing the suggestions from the forum posts?

Q3- What is the online version, is it Adobe Acrobat (yuk) or html or text or what?

Q4- How long would it take for the paper version to arrive in Australia.

Q5- What Size is the ebook in megs and the paperback? Same Size as the Prima Strat Guide or smaller?

Q6- To buy it for me means not buying NeverWinterNights for a month at least. Would you say it's worth that?

Q7- Did any of you who bought it find you gameplay improved a lot? If so, how?

Q8- How does it compare to the Prima Guide (which I have. I rate it as a 7/10, not as useful as the Colaniazation book which allowed me to win a game but not so good as the Falcon 4 Prima Guide which gets a 10/10 from me. The EQ guide is a 1/10).

bondetamp · June 23, 2002, 08:55

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Originally posted by Comstr
Q1 - Anyone here bought it?

. I assume someone here has, but there's only 4 reviews on it at the site and they tell me pretty much BUY THIS. Gee.

I have.

I bought it pretty much the day it came out or shortly thereafter.

It is good.

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Q2- How Different it is from his version 3 guide at gamefaq's? The example text is an excat copy it would seem. Is much added, or is just a matter of cleaning it up with proper paragraphs, and removing the suggestions from the forum posts?

If I remember correctly, the version three was a SMAC guide, which means that the new guide at the very least has additional info on the stuff that is new in SMAX. There is also a rather large appendix with some additional tactics. Most of it is probably available in the forums if you go digging, but it is nice to have it all in one place.

I didn't notice much editorial work, but I'm sure there is a great deal that I can't see.

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Q3- What is the online version, is it Adobe Acrobat (yuk) or html or text or what?

Sadly, it is a copy protected pdf. It seems that Vel had done some internal linking, with footnotes and such, but that it got lost in transition. It is copyprotected, so you can't cut 'n paste it into Word to make it look more to your liking, and it is double columned, making it a huge pain in the ass to read it from the screen. If you're planning to print it out, this won't really matter, though.

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Q4- How long would it take for the paper version to arrive in Australia.

I have no idea. Probably a week or so.

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Q5- What Size is the ebook in megs and the paperback? Same Size as the Prima Strat Guide or smaller?

the pdf is 561 kb. I don't know about the paper back.

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Q6- To buy it for me means not buying NeverWinterNights for a month at least. Would you say it's worth that?

Would you? How much do you play SMAC these days? If you play it a bit, then it is probably worth it, as it will improve your game.

I still suspect that you should get NWN now and wait a month before buying the guide rather than the other way around, though, but what do I know.

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Q7- Did any of you who bought it find you gameplay improved a lot? If so, how?

Q8- How does it compare to the Prima Guide (which I have. I rate it as a 7/10, not as useful as the Colaniazation book which allowed me to win a game but not so good as the Falcon 4 Prima Guide which gets a 10/10 from me. The EQ guide is a 1/10).

I'm not very familiar with many other game guides, so I can't really rate it in any consistent manner. It did help my game quite a bit, simply by pointing out new strategies that I hadn't considered and giving a more detailed run down on how things work.

Adalbertus · June 24, 2002, 14:20

Does anybody know a source in Europe to buy the paperback without paying twice the amount for shipping?

Velociryx · June 25, 2002, 10:12

Wow....and thanks guys, for answering the questions asked here!

As to the European source....there WAS a printer in England for a while, but I think the deal with them fell apart, so to my knowledge, there is no Euro source at present, but I'll double check that today!

-=Vel=-

Comstr · June 25, 2002, 10:20

Few unanswered questions Vel-

Is it very differenet from your V3 guide?

Is the ebook, printed out, different from the paperback? What size is the paperback?

For that matter, can I print out the ebook?

Velociryx · June 25, 2002, 10:47

I would say that there's probably a 35-40% difference between v3 and v4. Significant, but definitely not a total rewrite.

Dimensions of the paperback are (I'm looking at my copy and sorta eyeballilng it, so don't hold me to it...lol)....something like 8" tall and 5" wide? The same material exists in both the pdf and the bound editions, so from a content perspective, you'll wind up with the same stuff no matter how you decide to run with it, tho if shipping costs are a concern (and I can see where they might be! GULP!), I'd recommend the e-version. That, a printer, hole-punch, and a three-ring binder should set you right up!

-=Vel=-

bondetamp · June 27, 2002, 04:53

I don't need your decadent American three-ring binders! A tho-ring binder was good enough for my father and it is good enough for me!

waab · June 27, 2002, 11:32

Hmm I didn't now that my neibors (sp?) to the west was conservativ.

Quote:

Originally posted by bondetamp
I don't need your decadent American three-ring binders! A tho-ring binder was good enough for my father and it is good enough for me!