I was just checking out the Age of Wonders page, and no bonuses are listed, not even avatars or a manual. I was surprised to see that, as I think every other game I've looked at has come with something at least.

just got it - It doesn't have any extras :(
I wouldn't mind a manual, but i'll probably still enjoy the game.

Here is a link to a plain text manual.
http://www.ringofsaturn.com/games/age_of_wonders_manual.html
.pdf manual
http://www.replacementdocs.com/download.php?view.280
Manual Addendum
http://www.replacementdocs.com/download.php?view.5293

It would be nice to have extras. I have the cd version around here somewhere, and I would be more inclined to buy it if it had extras like wallpapers and avatars and such. As it stands theres really no reason for me to buy it seeing as the retail version doesn't require the cd to be in the drive to play. If I can't find it I'll probably buy it anyways, and the others when they come out seeing as I recall them needing the disk in the drive to play.

not even the manual?
I think I'll skip this one then

Here is a bonus:
http://aow.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=801
This is a song that was included with the AoW demo, but for some reason it wasn't included in the main game.
You can either place it into Age of Wonders\Songs and add it into the in game playlist or you can install a mod file plugin for Winamp and add the file, the rest of the Age of Wonders music and anything else you might fancy and run it in the background.
Age of Wonders is very Alt-Tab friendly.
Thanks!
I do expect them to add the manual soon. That is one extra that I think should be in every game from the beginning.
This game has a great manual. It is a good read to get into the universe before you start to play.
Maybe GOG released this without any bonus because they haven't got permission for it yet and they wanted to release it before Steam and the other services.
That could be a wise move, If Steam released it first, GOG would probably get much less sales.
For Steam this is not an important game, for GOG it's probably much more important.
Arcanum have sold quite well (how much that is we don't really know) for a long time.
I think Age of Wonders may have some of the same potential.

I'd say the reason GOG released it this fast is because it's also on Impulse. Seems like Triumph Studios is trying to get as much money as they can from it. I expect more publishers to start doing the same.

I don't mind the lack of bonuses, but I consider a Manual to be a necessity, not a bonus, with a game that is this complex.

If I remember correct there are lots of descriptions in the game and things like the difference between spheres of magic are logical.
On the other hand there are lots of things in the manual that you don't need to know but it sure helps, newcomers will feel lost and it have a really great manual that is almost worth the price of the game in itself. Think Master of Magic. The manual for Age of Wonders is almost as good.

I actually have a manual from my old CD copy of the game. Yes, you can figure out how to play the game without a manual, but it is a pain in the butt. I think that the Manual for ANY game is a necessity, not a bonus, and the Quickstart is not a good substitute.
I am hoping it was just a case of the wires being crossed between GoG and Triumph studios,and the Manual will be made avaialble on GOG..although it is available other places on the net.
I don't want GOG to get into sloppy habits.

I can agree to that.

The manual from this game is huge, too -- lots of cool background information.
If they had the soundtrack as a bonus, I'd buy in a heartbeat. The music to AoW is awesome -- however, since I own the game already, I'll just buy the sequels.
If you don't own the game - buy now! :D

I just picked it up - I enjoy bonuses too, but this gave me warm fuzzy nostalgia in a way. I used to get all my computer games in jewel cases for ten bucks, and that was before most games included a digital manual, and for some reason half the cases never had manuals with them. My first day with a new game was usually spent just trying to figure out what I was doing, and having a rip-roaring good time doing it! :D

Thanks for those manual links. I'd learned how to play when I downloaded the demo long ago, but the manual has a lot of cool extra stuff.

Maybe the reason the manual isn't included is that there are some rights issues with the people who wrote it?

The bonuses here and elsewhere tend to be screengrabs and music porting anyway; not stuff many users couldn't already do. Buy the games for the games.

If you're looking for a little more game info going beyond what's typically covered by manuals, check out the strategy section in fan site. Also, [url=http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/189120-age-of-wonders/faqs]GameFAQs has a few guides posted too.