The Source Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Readme File Format: PDF, Word, etc... I know I asked this several months ago, and I cannot find the thread. However, I have been working on the readme file, and found that it would be hard to seperate categories with a primitive text application. Other words, you can't make the fonts stand out, so you know important headings and subheadings. Since my readme file is five pages long, I need to create a hirearchy of importance. My question: Would it be wise to create a readme file in: MS Word? PDF Format? Browser Format? Etc... Your thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavlos Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 I'd prefer it to be in just a .txt as it opens faster even on my AMD Athlon 64 3400+ with 1Gb of ram word still takes a longer time to load up than a .txt file. I like speed! I don't want to wait around! But pdf looks better. But I'd have to stick with .txt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Tetra Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 You could write your file in RTF, which allows you to use various font faces and sizes, bold and italic styles, etc. It is somewhat slower to open than straight ASCII text, but nowhere near as slowly as PDF. Both WordPad and MS Word can read/write this format. HTML is a good second choice, especially if you need tables or embedded images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Det. Bart Lasiter Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 HTML (or whatever you use for web pages), would be a good choice, as pretty much anyone can open them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth333 Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Yes, html is definitely a good choice as well as .txt and .rtf as everyone can view them. Don't go fancy with .pdf and .doc. Readmes should be easy to use and quick to open. You're distributing a game mod, not the whole game, so keep it simple and practical Unless the readme is relatively short, I like to use html as it allows you to make an index and link to the various topics in your readme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Tetra Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Believe me, make it as easy as possible; even though Kotor Tool has a text-based readme file, people *still* ask questions that are answered in it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavlos Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 I didn't ask any questions, honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth333 Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 I guess the only solution to this would be to change the title from readme.txt to kotor3_confirmed.txt or free_money.txt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavlos Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 kotor3_confirmed, you shouldn't use those words around here, you will get 5000 threads appearing about how it has been confirmed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth InSidious Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 You just said it! AAAH! I said the word! If you ask my opinion, a .txt is the way to go.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svösh Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 LOL who cares unfortunately most people never read it anyways On average most pm’s I get ask me questions I have answered or stated in my read me's. It’s about as annoying as some one complaining they can do a better job then your mod Yet have never touched the tools and have zero know how in computers or any of the game editing disciplines But still complain about the work you did for free .. and have the nerve to not read about the mod. For some thing that long I would say .RTF as well, every windows user has wordpad and it’s not as much of a hog as MS word is and you can change font faces size and all that formatting jazz svösh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono_Giganto Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Heh, if I can find the time to finish old projects, I'm naming my readme's free_money.rtf from now on. Thanks for the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHawke Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Mac, I'd say go with rtf or html... but that's just me! Though I too am tempted to use free_money.rtf on my next readme as well! On average most pm’s I get ask me questions I have answered or stated in my read me's. Same here, it is amazing the number of people who ignore the readme files. It’s about as annoying as some one complaining they can do a better job then your mod Yet have never touched the tools and have zero know how in computers or any of the game editing disciplines But still complain about the work you did for free .. and have the nerve to not read about the mod. *Nods head in agreement* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth InSidious Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 LOL who cares unfortunately most people never read it anyways On average most pm’s I get ask me questions I have answered or stated in my read me's. It’s about as annoying as some one complaining they can do a better job then your mod Yet have never touched the tools and have zero know how in computers or any of the game editing disciplines But still complain about the work you did for free .. and have the nerve to not read about the mod. For some thing that long I would say .RTF as well, every windows user has wordpad and it’s not as much of a hog as MS word is and you can change font faces size and all that formatting jazz svösh That's why my mod description on pcgm is always the same as the readme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono_Giganto Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Yeah, same here, now, if I get a question I already answered, I just reply with a link to the description. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svösh Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 You guys go with freemoney.txt i'll go with sex.txt see who gets less questions in pm's lol it’s marketing 101 sex sells svösh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono_Giganto Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 You guys go with freemoney.txt i'll go with sex.txt see who gets less questions in pm's lol it’s marketing 101 sex sells svösh svösh wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 I think a simple text document is enough, but you can always be fancy and use HTML. Remember, it is the content that counts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkkender Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 svösh wins. I 2nd that statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Kenobi Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Since my readme file is five pages long, I need to create a hirearchy of importance. Why on top of God's green earth do you possibly need a 5 page readme.txt? "This MOD mine" "NO copy without ask" would be good enough Just curious General Kenobi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth333 Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 I think you should try to keep it simple inasmuch as possible. The only time I had a long readme was for the AIOFPM mod for kotor 1 where I included descriptions of all the mods. I found .html very practical for this. Here it is if you want to have a look at it: sex_and_money.zip (had to zip it because LF does not accept .html attachments) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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