[DISCUSSION] Guidebook & Player Documentation

[portfiend]

on the subject of teaching players how to use and understand the game's mechanics

[KawaiiDouchebag]

Alright so my opinion ofc but i think the guidebook should:
Wherever possible, directly reference numbers and/or reactions written in the game's code as opposed to being written out in text, as it allows for balancing in the future without needing to update in the guidebook.
Have a "favorites" section where players can mark certain pages and have a link to it show up at the top.
Consequently, add the ability to write in links to other guide pages in the guide.
Wrap all the random sections into subcategories, presenting the player with only what they need as they need it. The "Default" page of the guidebook should be a page stating what the guidebook is, what it can help a player with, how to navigate it, and then nudging them to read the next page, possibly with a link to the page at the bottom.
Make a "Basics" category, where the guides inside are the essentials to understanding how to play the game.
Default the guidebook to be fully collapsed, and add a setting for it to default to expanded if needed. The reasoning for this is we want the new reader to be able to easily see what information they need without getting overwhelmed by options, engaging with sections as they wish to.

Thermomachines can be wrapped into engineering and character records could be a subcategory under setting lore or Space Station 14. I would also argue species can go under Setting Lore as well.
Salvage should be a subcategory of logistics, and bartender, botany, chef, and janitorial should all be under a "Service" category.

This is very much a personal thing, but having a "All recipes" section that includes a list of anything that can be made from the guidebook (including drinks, chef recipes, and atmospheric reactions). Practically this can be done by collecting all recipes into a single table, and simply adding tags to them that determine which show up under which category, then having the special ones simply take all recipes with the tag and display it.

Potentially also let players go "back" and "forward" to pages they were previously, though this is really just a nice to have.