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Author Topic: PRC Manual  (Read 8306 times)

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April 01, 2012, 08:56:27 AM
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I've uploaded new manual for PRC 3.5 to the Vault. It was the first time I've built a manual, so it might not be perfect. Please report any bugs you find :)

You can download the new manual from here:
http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Hakpaks.Detail&id=7870


April 01, 2012, 09:55:54 AM
Reply #1
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I can't get the manual to work properly in IE, Firefox, or Safari.  (I'll test on Chrome later.)  (Yes, I said okay to running blocked content.)

If I open the main menu page in the browser, I can't get beyond it, except in one of the browsers (Safari, I think) I did, but only to a blank page, regardless of what I clicked on.

I could access the content by opening the folder and clicking individually on the major pages (like base classes, for example.  If I click on one of the base classes, then I do go to the page for that class, so it appears only the links from the main menu are problematic.

I don't know enough about the process to offer constructive suggestions of how to fix the problem, but clearly the issue lies with the main menu page.

EDIT:  I must have clicked on the wrong thing originally.  Now the manual seems to work normally for me.

I would also suggest a couple alterations to the content at some point.  Sometimes the descriptions apply to PNP but not to NWN.  For instance, in the hellfire warlock prereqs, the manual states that one needs a certain level in "knowledge:  the planes" in order to qualify.  You and I know that that means "lore" the way the system was implemented in NWN, but a newbie is almost certain to be confused by that (with the result that you will get a lot of questions about it on the forums!)  Also, it might be nice to mention known issues.  In True Necro, for example, it might be wise to mention the fact that using a PRC arcane class won't permit dual progression.  A regular reader of the forums would certainly know that, but you can't expect a new user to go back and read every previous post before playing, and it is a very unhappy experience to plan a build, get several hours into the game, and discover the build won't work the way you thought.  Inevitably, something as complicated as the PRC will ocassionally create that kind of situation, but if we already know of certain problems, it makes sense to flag them for new users.

I know you are busy, though.  It may be better in those conditions to get a working manual up now and make corrections later, as time permits.

One other thing--this issue may be inherent to the compiliing process, since it seems to have always been there, but is there any way to get the template system into the manual?  Templates do have in-game descriptions, but it would be nice if they were available outside the game as well.

Thanks again for all you do.  The PRC continues to be one of the most impressive gaming systems, if not the most impressive, I have ever seen, probably the closest to PNP a software system can get.
« Last Edit: April 04, 2012, 01:31:45 AM by Calirion »


April 01, 2012, 05:58:01 PM
Reply #2

Can we get Anaxite to replace the online manual with this new one?
HEATSTROKE


April 01, 2012, 10:41:36 PM
Reply #3

I have not been having any of the problem Calirion is reporting.

Thank-you for your work on updating the manual, it has been a long time in coming. I was going to suggest doing it myself, but you beat me to it.


April 02, 2012, 05:22:09 PM
Reply #4

I took a screen shot of what happens to me when I go to the vault and try to download the new manual. I tried both versions and they both do this when I download them.

I have windows 7 and i use firefox as my browser.


April 02, 2012, 05:28:54 PM
Reply #5

I took a screen shot of what happens to me when I go to the vault and try to download the new manual. I tried both versions and they both do this when I download them.

I have windows 7 and i use firefox as my browser.

Did you try right-clicking & "save as"?
HEATSTROKE


April 02, 2012, 10:49:38 PM
Reply #6

No I did not? Did I miss something?
P. S. Thank you for the fix, I got it working now. :)
« Last Edit: April 02, 2012, 11:05:22 PM by clansunstar »


April 04, 2012, 07:22:17 AM
Reply #7
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For anyone else who ends up with problems opening the manual, the issue can stem from a Windows security update that restricts the activity of help files originating from other computers due to a vulnerability in HTML Help:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/896358

If you trust the source, then the file can be unblocked by right-clicking it, selecting Properties, and hitting Unblock under the Security settings.


April 04, 2012, 01:34:35 PM
Reply #8
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For anyone else who ends up with problems opening the manual, the issue can stem from a Windows security update that restricts the activity of help files originating from other computers due to a vulnerability in HTML Help:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/896358

If you trust the source, then the file can be unblocked by right-clicking it, selecting Properties, and hitting Unblock under the Security settings.

I didn't even knew about that, thanks for the info.

I've made chm version because imho it's (was) very convenient - small size, no need to unpack and ready to use. Now I see it may cause problems for some users. The manual in chm file is exactly the same as in 7z (just few more chm configuration files) and it contains one very simple java script file (used for menus) - which is that possibly dangerous content reported by IE. I should probably zip it so it can be downloaded with Mozilla.

I'll generate the manual once more (some icons look bad, and there's an error in domain section). Then I'll try to get in touch with Anaxite ;)