Keep it clean
If you believe that a wish duplicates another one or is not meant for the category, use Options button above to report a duplicate or spam.
Add your wish
If there is an item you wish to have on GOG.com and it’s not yet on the wishlist, please add your wish
Please add game manuals for EVERY game.
Added by
SpiderFighter While it's nice to have bonus goodies for games, it's a bit ridiculous not to have at least a game manual. Your users shouldn't have to conduct web searches to find out how to play the game they've just purchased.
SpellSword It is pretty frustrating purchasing a game that requires a manual but does not include it.
blitz4 It's weird seeing the manual behind a paywall. Also a game like Hollow Knight doesn't have a manual on Steam or GoG, but it has a manual. Maybe let users post content on games or some official mod upload the official manual?
Shamash At least the basics and the interface of the game should have a manual. That's simple and the developer can do it easily.
ThomasPierson I think manuals should be provided for the games that actually have them. If the game wasn't released with one originally, then that's on the developer, not GOG.
ag87 Agreed about ALL manuals (for example, the missing manuals from Heroes Chronicles). PDF is a well-known, very standard format that has been around for decades and works quite well for authentic scans of the original, physical documentation (some form of OCR-type textual data is best to allow for searches and such rather than just images, and it makes the files much smaller). Some people here are advocating other formats, but I'm a little uncertain I agree with that. That said, I must admit that 'm not very familiar with some of them. So I'd just say that any other format would need to be able to do at least as much as what PDF can do in representing the physical scans exactly so as to be authentic to the original physical products, and there would need to be software to view them that is relatively streamlined (not bloated) and able to run on a variety of machines including older machines.
CLBrown I agree that every item published by GoG should have documentation provided.
I DO NOT AGREE that these should not be "PDF format," and instead should be "ebook" format.
Just FYI, on my own ebook reader software, I can read PDFs just like I can read MOBI or EPUB files, or several others. There's literally no difference to me, except for the ability to save bookmarks in the file (which I don't use anyway. as the software does this for me).
baronsed Also in ebook/epub format, please. Made to be read, unlike pdf.
PaladinWay A mention in the goodies section like "Manual installed with game but not separately downloadable" would be helpful too. I never really care about separately downloadable, I just like having the ability to look at it once installed.
Taellyn0 Sadly thats not an issue that gog can really solve,
other than creating community-driven manuals,
which would be nothing more than the individual game wikis, so a
link to those would be better in this case, because it wouldnt split up tips and guides to different locations.
The real issue here is, that nowadays most games are sold through platforms that are not owned by the game developers themselves, so they cant provide manuals easily. And those, that are owned by the companies themselves often have lazy marketing departments which don´t provide manuals because "that platform also doesnt do that" (Sometimes I wonder, if the marketing departments of Uplay/EA/etc. would jump off a bridge, because ... ) .
solar_dome archive.org/details/gamemanuals
sbloom85 Ahem... www.replacementdocs.com
TheGreatTave They could implement a fan service with this. Like let us create game manuals if the original manauals are long gone. We could then send them in to be reviewed and they get released as the official GOG manual for that game.
vidsgame Or at least add the default control scheme.
TomOldGames I miss having manuals a lot in modern gaming :(
hanshan This is important. Manuals can be quite important, and at the least are a convenience. Cannot always find them online.
CleanFun The manual scans were taken from the abandon-ware community, as were the image files for most of their classic games. They wont scan anything for you, because they never owned any of it to begin with. Most of this stuff was uploaded with the intention of sharing it for FREE. If GOG get's a new classic for their library, you'll find it was released somewhere else for free a day or week before.
Bob_Meh_HDR Thanks for that link. Back in the days before EB pretty much took over retail games, you used to be able to go to your local game store and pick out old 2nd hand games and the didn't all have manuals.. damn seven kingdoms. Kinda like a lucky dip really. at least i can stop buying cheapie games on gog so i can figure them out.
SpellSword 'This' is a feature I'd really like to see, all games with their manuals. ^_^
If you can get the right to sell the game, why not acquire the rights to bundle the manual with it 'and' even if they do not provide one 'find' a physical copy and scan it yourself. (I'm sure some of the GOG community would even donate manuals to the cause...)
It really sucks when there is no documentation included. T_T
DRM_free_fan @ LauraOliva: It could create problems for GOG and nothing it for them. Replacement Docs is the most active game manual website on the net but it has problems with certain game publishers (mainly Bethesda Softworks) requesting removal of manuals. See: www.replacementdocs.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?6
LauraOliva I have quite a few older game manuals that I was planning to send to the trash that I would be willing to donate to GOG.
bvguthrie If GOG can't get access to a manual for the game, they should at least create a list of controls for people to download.
DRM_free_fan This is probably obvious to most people reading this but for the rest of you - if you cant get hold of a manual, I have found a good FAQ will usually list the controls for the game. I recommend: www.gamefaqs.com (No registration required. Just type your game title into the search bar near the top right hand corner).
DRM_free_fan BTW there is a site that does host copies of old manuals. (@ any Moderator reading this: I hope this is OK to post this site. Please remove my post if not). Check out: replacementdocs.com/download.php (No site registration is required to download). I add that it has a very small selection of manuals and it mainly concentrates on consoles.
tripleccreation Klem have a point, which I think software industry should have some sorf of rule on very old games materials and it's rights if the software have been abanden or something, much like in music.
RWarehall One example is no manual for Ultima 1. Took a bit of searching to find all the commands as well as the special bonuses each class gives.
pseudonarne yeah but even if it isn't the original manual at least this bit " shouldn't have to conduct web searches to find out how to play the game they've just purchased." from his wishlist is definitely doable for all of them. so maybe add "and if for some reason you can't get one make one"?
PyroGourmand If there is no manual it's very probably because the GOG team couldn't get a publishing right on a digital/scanned copy. Old games had physical manual and most of the time the publishers only had the rights for physical distribution (because digital distribution wasn't even a thing back then). The publisher would have to find who's holding the rights (the artist(s) who did the drawings, the writers and the devs who wrote the manual, etc) and get a new deal, it would take months.
omndra Not all games have manuals. Though most games do have Wiki's.
28 comments about this wish