Talk:User Manual/TODO

Moved the content from Criezy user page into the discussion there.

Manual Proposed Reorganisation

1. Introduction (on one page)

What is ScummVM?

Or should this be merged with the Quick Start?

2. Quick Start (on one page)

Summary on how to:

2.1 Get and install ScummVM
2.2 Install game for use with ScummVM
2.3 Add Game in ScummVM
2.4 Run Game in ScummVM
2.5 Where to find more documentation. Where to find help (forum, IRC). How to report bugs

This should be short and well illustrated, with links to the rest of the manual for details.

3. Get and install ScummVM (on one page)

With detailed instructions for all platforms

4. Install game for use with ScummVM (on one page)

With instructions for the games that differ from the simple case described in the Quick Start (e.g. multi-CD games, mac games on non mac computers, files that need to be renamed).

5. Add and Run game in ScummVM (on one page)

Detailed descriptions of GUI features (e.g. search box, mass add), options, GMM, Save/Load, hotkeys, controls for portable devices...

6. Getting help (on one page)

Describe what to do in case of errors / crashes

7. Appendix

Contains technical informations that should not be needed by most users

7.1 Command line options (on one page)
7.2 Config file description (on one page)
7.3 Tools (on one page)

Criezy 00:15, 15 July 2009 (UTC)

Notes on the Manual's structure

That is my intention exactly - to separate 'what is' from 'how to', the two main questions a manual is supposed to provide answers to (I believe). So here's how I imagine the Manual's structure to be:

1. Introduction

2. Quick Start (this may look like a platform-independent tutorial of the whole process, up to launching a game - probably, using a freeware game as an example, so that a user might try it out himself. I agree with the suggested subsections (1.Installing ScummVM; 2. Installing a game...), those would be linked to the corresponding detailed sections of the Manual)

3. ScummVM Interface

3.1 Main Window
3.2 Options
3.3 Game settings 
3.4 In-game menu (with a list of games that keep to their own menus)

4. Using ScummVM

4.1 Getting and installing ScummVM (on all platforms)
4.2 Setting up ScummVM (describing the settings and command-line parameters)
4.3 Installing games for use with ScummVM (covering multi-CD games, additional files like kyra.dat, and extracting/converting audio tracks)
4.4 Adding and Running a game in ScummVM (and creating batch files)
4.5 Setting up a game in ScummVM (adjusting per-game settings, describing why 3x scaler makes 640x480 games run in a smaller window than oldies...)
4.6 Removing a game from ScummVM
4.7 Uninstalling ScummVM - ? Why would they even think about that?!

5. Getting help

5.1 FAQ - ? Would threads like these:
'Why isn't my Torin's Passage detected by ScummVM?' - 'It is probably not supported by now. See compatibility page here (link).'
qualify as 'frequently asked'? Or 'There is no sound'? 'My game crashes'?
5.2 Contacts

6. Appendix

Svipur 18:56, 15 July 2009 (UTC)