So what happens when we download/install now? I take it we are installing the 32-bit version. Will we have to reinstall once the 64-bit is out?

I played for maybe 30-minutes this morning and was pretty much utterly lost the whole time.  Of course I was just rushing through the game to see as much as I could before I had to go to work, so I didn't take the time to really explore the interface or read the in-game encyclopedia.  Still, I think this game could take some time to figure out.  Better documentation would help.

Just a suggestion, these are supposed to be tutorial videos right? You keep saying things like "We know what that is" "Don't need to explain that"...Well, yeah you kinda do. I have no idea what gold does in this game. You're clicking through all the messages way too fast. Can you just slow it down, and actually do some explaining? Thanks!

Seriously?  Gold = money in this and pretty much every other game that features gold as a resource.

Obviously, but what do I buy with that gold? How is it used? Is gold the same as Gildar? etc.

I know the answers to these questions, but guess what? A new player will have NO FUCKING CLUE. 

There is a severe lack of documentation for the game, and these "tutorials" aren't doing much to help either when nothing is being explained. If new players don't know how to play the game, then they won't play it. That's kind of a problem when you want to sell copies. 

The bottom line: The game is freaking incredible. It just needs some polish (which I know they will provide) but most of all it needs documentation. If Brad spent a little more time explaining  things in these videos, the problem would be greatly reduced for new players. 

lol man i didnt even play the beta and i know what gold does. Gildar is the name of the currency in the worl of Elemental basicly its cash. What do u buy with it? What else do u buy with money in a strategy game buildings,units,equipment ect how hard is that @.@

It just cherry on top of cake world of global strategic games. As great games of past this one ask you just try something and look as it work. Bribe companion? - oh, ok, spent gold. Build? okay less coin remain. Buying equipment? Okay it clear. Gold for that.

And tooltips very helpful too, because before you spent gold - you  see what you will do.

I think it normal, the game don't tell you by voice like in DungeonKeeper: "Okay, some gold here, Master, you can spent it on such ...,such ... or such ..."

You can discover it by yourself and it part of gameplay. Easy to start, hard to win, because even all your possibilities discover in process.

 If Elemental just first global strategy game ever you seen - maybe online Wikipedia give some clue to you, or manual, or perfect movie on youtube, from players and to players. But true fans of MoM even don't need to read the manual imho  

Considering that there are already several threads citing the lack of documentation, and new players are already beiginning to be frustrated by not knowing what to do, I would say you are in the minority. The game needs documentation. 

well, gold/gildar was just the example... i think the underlying message was to have more explanation in the tutorial videos...

Hmm i dunno im preaty sure the campaign will be like a tutorial :/ it always is in every game so when its out just play the campaign thats the main reason i buy games @.@ i dont care for the multi-player one bit lol like Call Of Duty 4 has a way better campaign that MW 2 :/ MW2 campaign seems lacking and i really dont care for the multi-player coz no one knows whats team work >.<

It took me about 40 turns to figure out how to build a farm...  Mind you, I'd only had 5 hours of sleep, but there are a few areas that aren't obvious as you might expect.

The campaign is not a tutorial, as has been stated by many who are playing it. People are still confused. 

^^^This. This was just an example of how Brad seemed to gloss over the fundamentals of the game. I don't expect him to totally hold a new players hand, but the videos at this point are basically gameplay footage, not tutorials. 

There's a PDF manual in the game's install directory but absolutely no attention is drawn to that fact.  At any rate, it does a pretty good job explaining the basics of the game.

I would have to disagree with you there. It does a pis-poor job of telling someone HOW to play the game. It's a lot of fluff and not a lot of meat and potatoes. 

I think you love THIS campaign because afaik story line is written by Random House especial for Elemental. You can read this interview, bottom 4 page

http://www.gameshark.com/features/741/p_30/Elemental-War-of-Magic-Q&A-with-Brad-Wardell.htm

And it good move, because in other strategic games with campaign - every mission you just build again and again your base. Every mission you get some new buildings and troops, and you need again and again build same buildings like you build about 10 times before. Boring. In fact old games - like MoM or MOO, or Civilization (even 4) - don't have campaign, only sandbox mode. Grand strategy, huh, yourself - campaign.

So in Elemental campaign beside interesting storyline (but with it),  have some tutorial moment - you learn you possibilities and play like... huh... like in  RPG game, i think. When you finish campaign you can start sandbox or even multiplayer game fearless about UI, or some game concepts, but sharp to you knowledge about this game you get only in sandbox or multiplayer games.

So "Game Experience May Change During Online Play" 

All above just my humble opinion

These look like they will be very helpful.  Thanks.

Dunno 'bout you guys, but these vid tutorials helped me out alot....one quick watch through them and I had grasped what i needed to play the game....Naturally the first time through something is always the "worst" but I can say that I never had trouble figuring things out. Everytime I got lost I'd just study the UI for a bit, piece things together and continue...

Right now I have a lvl 10 Sovereign playing on a "large" map....About to lead a force of dozens of archer into combat against a pair of drakes who have cut off a city of mine by taking up residence in the forest that seperates it from the rest of my empire.

LOVING THIS GAME!

This looks amazing!

I was so excited while watching the preview... I think it moved.

Haha! Gotta love Seinfeld! 

I'm not sure what "meat and potatoes" you're looking for, but I got a lot out of reading the manual.

That's like having to read the script before watching a movie. In other words: Unnecessary.

I sense an awful lot of elitism/fanboy-ism here... look, not everyone has played TBS.  I have, and as several others have stated, they have as well - the point is to offer constructive criticism from the point-of-view of someone experiencing the game for the first time.  Unfortunately I initiated the download when I woke up this morning and forwarded the manual to myself (argh... work interferes with gaming).  I've read through the entire manual.  Guess what?  It appears to be mostly useless.

For example, as one person noted, it took them 40-50 turns to figure out how to build a farm.  Looking in the manual, flip to page 22 - "Improvements for Settlements."  In about 6 sentences, it tells me what improvements do, some basics about terrain, and that they will be displayed or not displayed, depending on which requirements have been met.  Does this at any point explain HOW to go about constructing an improvement?  Nope - no info.  Does it even give me ideas of what improvements are available?  No.  Yet if I go through pages 25-28, I get an absolutely inanely detailed listing of every option configurable in the game.  I'm sure glad a description of the "Use Fullscreen" option was included!  Now I know how to maximize the game, but still no freakin' clue about a farm...

Similarly, I've heard a lot about the in-game encyclopedia (no idea, it begins with an H, and I'll embarass myself trying to spell it).  Guess what's missing from the manual?  A reference to this in-game encyclopedia.  From watching various videos previously, my guess is I can access it from a button in the top right of the UI.  Is this shown in the manual?  As I said, no.  At least not where I expect it to be (as I've gone through relevant sections again to verify, such as pages 13-15 and even checking the hotkey list at the end).

This is one EXAMPLE of what people are talking about.  It's absolutely critical this information be brought up here, on the boards.  Why?  First, it gives others having the same problems a chance to find the answers to these apparently common issues.  Second, it brings it to the attention of Frogboy and the devs - they can see the most common complaints and work to fix them first, whether it be better documentation, tutorials, improved videos, etc.  Third, the improvements / answers builds a stronger community, which is usually important to a game - at least one that is going to be fairly dependent on mods to have additional longevity. 

Instead of blindly supporting the game and ignoring it's flaws / issues, offer constructive criticism and help to those who need it.  Not everyone had the opportunity to participate in the beta, and it appears they would have been better off adding some 'fresh blood' in the beta stages to improve the polish and user-friendliness of the game for launch.

Now, with that said, I still eagerly look forward to getting home so I can play this tonight.  I'm sure I'll struggle with some things, but think the concepts in the game are great (and I'm an avid supporter of Stardock / Impulse in general).  But to HELP with the game, I intend to document problems, submit information to the devs / forums, and try to compile some good information or a quick start guide for new players.  Why?  I want to see this game succeed, and it wont happen if the problems are ignored by the blinded faithful.

End rant

This pretty much sums up everything perfectly. 

It looks like you're looking for a strategy guide more than a manual.  A manual will tell you 'how', but it usually doesn't tell you 'when'.  

Hmm, maybe you missed part of my original post.  Regardless, even by your logic, I should not need a manual to show me how to use the in-game encyclopedia.  That's a 'how' item, unless opening in-game help is now a strategy...

Again, I think all of the points / examples I made were 'how' items - HOW do I build a farm?  Where do I click on the UI?  HOW do I open in-game help?

Edit:  Looking back, maybe you saw the part where I mentioned it took someone 40-50 turns to figure out how to build a farm.  I wasn't saying they needed help knowing WHEN to build it... just the fact it took them a large number of turns to figure out HOW to build it.