Supreme Commander has a very good manual.
Background Story of the three nations you can play in the game, infos about every single unit and even explanations on some of the most important things that even a RTS noob like myself can understand (like harvesting resources, defending your base, setting up tranasport routes...)
that is something i definetly miss today. most of the manuals nowdays are just a waste of paper IMO, because you got the same 10 - 11 pages of useless info in a .pdf file on the CD/DVD.

I think the quality of modern manuals is directly related to the upswing of the 'I want it now now now' attitude of the newer generations. These are the people who would rather click accept on quests/missions/whatever without reading the reason why they do them.. and then complain in the end that they don't know why Billy Bob hates them (when 5 missions ago they were sent to kill Billy Bobs brother for some reason that was really well explained)

All software-stuff that came with the enhanced edition has been patched in to the normal edition as well by now. The EE also comes with two audio discs (one soundtrack, and one "inspired by"), as well as a behind the scenes video DVD.

I liked the ones that were done as part of the game, like i76 and Future Shock.
But it must be said I rarely read manuals for the information in them, just for the ambiance.
Personally I think it's good that games can now include decent tutorials, tips and the story in the game, rather than having it all confined to a paper manual.

There are still some. For instance - the NWN games have epic (printed) manuals. It may differ in your region, though from what you've said.
The first one was spiral-bound + cloth map. NWN2 Gold's is 193 pages. I'm looking at it right now. God what a great game.
I know what you mean though. I would've liked a paper one for Drakensang, though. It's just not the same reading it on the PC.

i used to take my game manuals to school and read them in class lol, i'd put them in them in the middle of my text book and prop it up so it looked like i was studying when in fact i was not, well not what i was supposed to be studying anyway.

If I cannot use it as an offensive weapon, it is not a manual.
I also recall the ring-binder Fallout manual .... man, I miss those days :tearrollingdownmycheek:.

Indeed. Anything smaller than a medium sized brick is not a manual. It's just a miserable booklet.
Also, getting hit in the head by a brick sized manual can really hurt. Seriously.

Getting hit in the head by a miserable little booklet can hurt quite a bit too.
It's all in how hard you whip it. :)

Did the same thing myself. Only I used the latest copy of Penthouse. :D

I miss the giant chunky manuals, they were something to read while on the trip home and during the install, especially where a good backstory is presented. But I like to read, and I guess the idea is others just want to get to blasting the zombified half-orc Nazis because dialogue just gets in your way...
For simulation and certain strategy games, having the book alongside you while playing felt far better than opening a help file every few minutes.
The mentioned UHS site is great! When I get stuck, the little prompt to direct you to do what you were already doing causes my mind to click and get through something.

I love a good manual but I think paper ones are a waste of space.

I greatly miss old manuals, and old packaging in general. Call me a materialist, but I love looking at my games shelf and seeing all the old styles and logos.
Despite being on GOG I like to buy the original box when I can... often though, it's just too hard to find or too expensive.

And those manuals were the ones you NEEDED because it had the story, maps and the like in them. Awesome copy protection
Or would have been had someone not invented the photocopier. DAMN YOU XEROX!!!

P.S. Best manual ever off the top of my head is Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb.