"Inside Anarchy Online" new official print guide on its way

[dladyman]

I'm really pleased to announce that Funcom and IMGS, Inc. (the folks who did the original official AO print guide for Sybex) have agreed to publish a new, updated guide - it's way overdue.

This guide will have all maps (prepared by cartographer Brasse, aka Bhinder, who has done maps for EQ2 and DAoC) and quest walkthroughs, plus all the stats and other info that we can cram into a reasonably sized book. (It'll be about 200 pages, 8.5" x 11", black & white, spiral bound for easy opening and folding back.)

It'll be an official guide, so all the stats and other data will come straight from Funcom. It will be sold through the internet (links upcoming ), not in stores, but it'll be a printed guide, not a PDF. And perhaps best of all, whenever the game is updated or expanded, we can update the guide at the same time, so that you're not relying on a year-old guide for up-to-date information.

One thing we've learned over the years is that it's not possible to create a decent MOG guide without plenty of input from the people who know it best - the players. So there are a couple of things you can help us with. First, if you're interested in contributing to the guide (profession articles, walkthroughs, whatever), please let us know - reply here, or catch me at dladyman@incanmonkey.com.

Second, we've got a raftload of stats - over 100,000 items. Try as we might, there's no way we're going to fit that many items in a guide. (At 100 per page, that's 1000 pages ... and we're not about to ask players to pay $80 for a guide that big. ) So what we'd appreciate is your feedback on which stats are most valuable for a guide. In the next thread, I'm going to list the various types of stats and ask for your opinion about which are the most useful to include in the guide.

I think that we're going to be able to create a great guide for a great game - we're excited about it at IMGS, and hope that we can give you the guide you want for AO.

Thanks,
David

[sebquantic]

Don't know that alot of people that would pay for a guide unless it ships inside the box that LE comes in. There are already tons a free ones online.

[Asomadus]

We are glad to be working with IMGS, Inc. on getting this guide for the players of Anarchy Online. Please pay respect and do not post flames in this thread and only post constructive posts. Any offending posts will be removed.

To help out with the stats you can visit this thread.

[Amosco]

Don't know that alot of people that would pay for a guide unless it ships inside the box that LE comes in. There are already tons a free ones online.

Well, that's not completely true. I'd still love to have one of the original game manuals that came with the game in 2001. So I'd love to have a hard copy book that I can actually touch and refer to without having to contantly go back and forth from a website to the game.

By the way, if you guys could put any of the cool fake ads and things in this book like I hear were in the old one, that would be really cool!

[clespert]

I have the original book that came with AO, too.It was not very helpful LOL!
As for a printed guide, I would buy it, as it is way easier for me to read a book than burn my eyes on a computer screen

[Trgeorge]

I'm glad FC decided to support project like this. On the other hand I'm baffled about "contributing to the guide" part. I'm sure no-matter what anyone says, devs know game the best.

I would also like to see someone from FC commenting on EULA, namely 9th paragraph:
"You may not transfer any Funcom intellectual property including characters, items, coin or copyrighted material based on any sale outside the ingame economy, this includes giving mentioned Funcom intellectual property away as incentives or "freebies" to a sale. You may not sell, buy or auction any Funcom characters, items, coin or copyrighted material."

It would be shame to see someone investing knowledge, effort and time in work sold by 3th party being banned over it.

[dladyman]

Trgeorge,

Actually, we've found that while the devs usually know the data best (not always ... sigh ... but this isn't a problem with Funcom), the players - especially the best and most experienced players - know how the game plays best; perhaps because there are thousands of you and only a couple dozen of them.

Eight years ago, we created an early MOG guide with only developer input. Some of the advice in the guide was horrific, and the players let us know (we've still got a few scorch marks). We quickly replaced it with a guide that had a great deal of player input, and it was a great deal better. And we haven't tried to do a MOG guide without player input since then.

The maps and stats - there's not much you can help us with. But the best way to level an Agent, or perhaps the best walkthrough for a mission ... again, there are only a few of us, and there are thousands of you. We'd happily listen if an experienced Agent player gave us his or her input on the best way to play the class.

I'm pretty sure this doesn't violate the EULA - "intellectual property" probably refers to virtual items in the game, not your own thoughts about the game, but I'll let Funcom address that, themselves. (Funcom does know we're asking for contributions - remember, Asomadus acknowledged the original post, a couple of replies earlier.)

It's standard operating procedure for us to ask a game's players for contributions (except for one recent guide, where the devs got offended at the suggestion that anyone else knew how to play >>their<< game better than they did). No, we're not working with that company anymore.

David

[Trgeorge]

With all due respect, Asomadus is (or was) "just" an ARK. Unfortunatlly FC tends to be bit reluctant to share info who's actually on their paylist and what's their tasks/authorizations.

I'm fully aware how vague EULA is written. It's a way FC protected it's interests. "intellectual property" is a funny term. There really isn't that much you can't label it with it. I'm sure you'll include it in your official guide. As easily you can say that item stats or guides are "intellectual property". After all devs developed them. While EULA wasn't changed much over the years, the way how FC enforce it has. It's their right and there really isn't much any of us can do if we disagree.

Some players invested over 5 years into their chars, so speculating on Fc's intention is a bit risky. I'm sure you'll get much better response with definitive answer.

[Mastablasta]

With all due respect, Asomadus is (or was) "just" an ARK. Unfortunatlly FC tends to be bit reluctant to share info who's actually on their paylist and what's their tasks/authorizations.

I'm fully aware how vague EULA is written. It's a way FC protected it's interests. "intellectual property" is a funny term. There really isn't that much you can't label it with it. I'm sure you'll include it in your official guide. As easily you can say that item stats or guides are "intellectual property". After all devs developed them. While EULA wasn't changed much over the years, the way how FC enforce it has. It's their right and there really isn't much any of us can do if we disagree.

Some players invested over 5 years into their chars, so speculating on Fc's intention is a bit risky. I'm sure you'll get much better response with definitive answer.

He, and Famine, are both employees at Funcom. This was posted in an update a while ago.

Ask yourself though, would Funcom work with a company to produce a high profile guide that this apparently is, and then sue IGMS for selling their intellectual property? With all due respect, your posts are complete absurdities.

Well, that's not completely true. I'd still love to have one of the original game manuals that came with the game in 2001. So I'd love to have a hard copy book that I can actually touch and refer to without having to contantly go back and forth from a website to the game.

By the way, if you guys could put any of the cool fake ads and things in this book like I hear were in the old one, that would be really cool!

Hehe, that manual is completely unhelpful on more or less any issue. There's basically no info to find in it other than how to start the game and how to walk the rest is just in-character spam

[dladyman]

Before we go too much further discussing the original manual, please realize that the in-the-box manual is different from the sold-separately game guide. After Amosco's comment, I went back and checked. Our game guide that Sybex published didn't have any fake ads in it, and it didn't have much in-character commentary (spam or otherwise). I think you're thinking about the in-the-box manual.

We probably won't have much of either in this version of the guide - they take up space, and space will be at a premium. (As I've mentioned to Funcom several times recently, this is a >>big<< game. )

David

[MartekO]

I'm a Best Buy junkie. (There, I've admitted it). I buy stuff there all the time.

Purchased my first copy of AO at Best Buy back in Jan 02. Never picked up the original Sybex strat guide though.

Imagine my surprise, when just last weekend at the Best Buy I most often frequent, I spotted a lone copy of exactly that - the original Sybex strat guide, on the shelf!!!111 They haven't had much AO stuff there in quite a while, and certainly not the original strat guide in ages. (I figure they found it in the bottom of some box or something.)

Was marked only $5.95, so I decided to pick it up just for fun. I'ts pretty cool reading how AO was going to be, just before it came out (you can tell the guide was written prior to AO being released). It still talks about weight limits on different pack types, for example; and how much you will pay for a "level 50 Carrier Craft", and that it will "sink like a rock", lol.

One thing I haven't been able to find it the guide, though, has been bugging me. I can't seem to find a reference listing of emotes anywhere. Some emotes are used here and there as part of examples to script writing. But no comprehensive listing.

An emote list is one of the things I would expect to find in an "official" guide, so I hope you can include one in your updated version.

Good luck with the project.

Cheers,
Martek

[Asomadus]

With all due respect, Asomadus is (or was) "just" an ARK. Unfortunatlly FC tends to be bit reluctant to share info who's actually on their paylist and what's their tasks/authorizations.

I'm fully aware how vague EULA is written. It's a way FC protected it's interests. "intellectual property" is a funny term. There really isn't that much you can't label it with it. I'm sure you'll include it in your official guide. As easily you can say that item stats or guides are "intellectual property". After all devs developed them. While EULA wasn't changed much over the years, the way how FC enforce it has. It's their right and there really isn't much any of us can do if we disagree.

Some players invested over 5 years into their chars, so speculating on Fc's intention is a bit risky. I'm sure you'll get much better response with definitive answer.

I am an employee of Funcom now, Trgeorge.

We are working with IMGS, Inc. with the information that is going to be included in the guide and all of it will be approved by Funcom so we are aware and working with IMGS on this guide. So please feel free to let them know what you would like to see in a guide such as this.

[Trgeorge]

Ty and sorry if I made a mess.

[Asomadus]

Ty and sorry if I made a mess.

Nope! No mess made

[Tussa]

How much will a book like this cost?

[dladyman]

I was wondering when we'd get to this question, once I noticed that I hadn't mentioned it in the original message.

PC game guides tend to cost $20 (excuse me, $19.95). That's the price we're going to try to stick with for this guide. It depends on length - there's a real direct (and unyielding) ratio between number of pages and cost. We're shooting for 200 black & white pages, 8.5" x 11", spiral bound (actually, wireo bound, which is basically like spiral, but the "spirals" are flat, rather than a continuous spiral up the spine).

Other guides that you find in a store are sometimes longer, and full color. You can do that when you print a hundred thousand. You can't when you print a few thousand, which is what we'll be doing with this guide.

Since this is ordered via the internet, there is no tax (except for you poor guys in California and Kentucky), but there is a $4 shipping charge. Based on several trial runs, the guide will get to you in about a week.

There's one other factor governing length, and that is that we're limited to a 100MB file. I won't go into great detail on that parameter, but it means we can't go much over 200 pages even if we wanted to, and the pages won't have a lot of fancy art on them - the more graphics, the larger the file.

If you've got other questions, please let me know.

David

[Ukblizzard]

Assuming it will be available throughout the world.. what will the cost be in Euros and Pounds as well please. In addition, will it need shipping from the US, or will there be the option to ship it from Europe?

[dladyman]

I don't know what the cost in non-US funds will be, but it'll be a straight conversion. The fulfillment house ships worldwide; shipping outside the US (and maybe Canada; I don't remember) is $7. (For what it's worth, the $4 US and $7 non-US shipping cost is for the first item only; shipping for subsequent items are $1 (US) and $3 (non-US), but that's only useful if there's anything else you want to get. Unless there's any other AO paraphernalia, you'll probably just be getting the guide.)

David

[Genetic]

if it comes with a large pinup size map of RK and SL with markers and legends (in credits to the makers of hugemap/CSPmap and spheremap), I would buy =) having the map framed on the wall would be cool

[Lena]

Hello AO Community!!

Allow me a moment of your time to introduce myself to you as many of you will be hearing from me through PM's in the coming days.

I'm one of the editors for IMGS, the company doing the guide David mentioned again. My role is to write or coordinate the writing of the articles portions of the guide. If you are interested in writing something for the guide, feel free to send me a PM here on the forums. We're looking for people who love Anarchy Online and want to see their name in print.

And, as always, if there's something that you think would be useful to have as a written article in this guide, rather than just data, you can let me know that as well, either by posting here or in a PM.

Thank you.