Total War Manual

**EssPee** · 10-27-2004, 02:58

I purchased MTW 2 days ago from Walmart for 10 bucks. After looking through the forums I have seen several references to a manual. My package did not come with a paper manual and I could not find any sign of an electronic manual. Does this sound common? Is there an electronic manual and if so can it be downloaded from somwhere?

**DisruptorX** · 10-27-2004, 04:35

A quick check in my box revealed that yes, it should have come with a rather hefty manual. However, you shouldn't need it. I just played the tutorials and that was enough to get me familiar with the game.

**EatYerGreens** · 10-27-2004, 05:31

I think EssPee should take it back to WalMart and make a complaint. The product registration key is printed on the back of the manual and he won't be able to get product support or access online multiplayer games without it.

I doubt that the manual is available in downloadable form anywhere - that would just be a major gift to all those cheapskate warez users out there.

No offence or implication is intended towards you in this regard, by the way. It could be that this is a genuinely new line of cut-price game issues with which I am unfamiliar and which some marketing idiot thought was a good idea. Slimline plastic case and CDs but no manual and 10 bucks instead of 30 or more.

It's just that I've seen far too many postings of the "I've accidentally misplaced my game manual, can anyone help me out?" variety and "I bought it at the shop and it didn't come with a manual" is just another variation on the theme, so excuse my lack of sympathy.

Take it back and request a refund. If they have a policy against that, ask for a replacement. If they refuse to replace it, because the seal has been broken, point out that this was the only way for you to find out that part of the contents was missing. If that doesn't help, ask to see their manager about it. If s/he also declines to help, ask them for the name, address and phone numbers of their supplier and don't leave without it. There's no need to cause a big scene and if you remain calm, collected, don't raise your voice and make it obvious that you're not going to leave the store until you get what you came for, it unnerves the heck out of them.

If you can take up more than 15 minutes of the clerk and manager's time you've probably cost them more than the 10 bucks in lost productivity alone and their profit margin on one unit will be far less than the total price. It's a simple equation - they ripped you off, so you make them pay for it.

**MidnitePiper** · 10-29-2004, 18:43

Also baought at Walmart, also never saw a manual - never really missed it till I visited some forums and read a few posts about how good the manual was. Product key is in the CD-case though, beneath the CDs.

**EatYerGreens** · 10-29-2004, 19:29

Well, that's a partial help, I suppose but my edition isn't like that.

I neglected to mention that he will also be missing the 'tech tree' chart, which explains which buildings are prerequisites for others and which combinations are required for various troop types. Of course, you can always work out the building sequences for yourself by reading the info parchments carefully and this might provide a certain amount of interest/surprise to the game as you keep finding more things you can build. However, with the aid of the chart you can see what possibilities you can work towards right away.

Like I said, bits are missing and it should be taken back but if this really is a 'budget release' type effort than maybe there isn't anything that can be done about it. As the phrase goes, "ya gets what ya pays for". (shrug)

**MidnitePiper** · 10-29-2004, 21:59

Hmmm - I don't use it much, but (unlike the manual) there is a tech tree pdf for m:tw floating around one one of the download sites...

**Procrustes** · 10-29-2004, 22:09

Personally, I found the manual to be very sketchy and the tech tree too big to carry and two coloured to photocopy. (And my cd key was inside the jewel case, not in the manual.) I downloaded something called the "MTW info pack" a while ago - I can't remember from where. It has much more manageable (to me) tech trees, maps, etc. For strategy etc. I used the excellent unit guides and beginners guides that are available here in the MTW guides section of the forum.

I looked in the file download section here but didn't spot the info pack - perhaps someone else knows where it is now.