User talk:PirateIzzy

Von Leon
Hi Izzy, I am trying to figure out how to place the boss info for Von Leon. Is there a non-transformed Von Leon fight, or only the one against the giant lion in The Lion King's Castle? Does this boss appear at the end of the theme dungeon? Or is there some other way to fight him? If he's in the theme dungeon then I think I have it right - I redirected the boss content link to the theme dungeon page. Also, if he can just sit on the theme dungeon page we could probably remove him from the boss content section, which should be for non-theme dungeon raids. -- 17:13, 20 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Ok that makes sense. Thank you. Yeah we should put the Von Leon fight under the boss section and link between it and the theme dungeon where necessary. -- 07:03, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

Page naming - remove middle heierarchy (e.g. MS/Monsters/Page)
Hi PI,

So since you've been helping a lot I thought I'd educate you on something I haven't had time to do, but you can help with as you go along. Basically, our policy is that middle tiers/hierarchies in page names should not exist. Like, we don't want Game/Topic/Subtopic/Page to ever happen. So, when making new monster/quest/town pages for MapleStory, just make it simple like "MapleStory/Party Quest monsters" (note that the monsters should be lowercase due to our capitalization policy; Party Quest would be capitalized because it is a noun in the game). Basically, if you make a new page, just make sure it doesn't have an additional subpage. Don't worry about existing ones as I know that's a lot of work and it's something a cleanup person like myself should do. Thanks, -- 17:55, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

Training locations
Yes, please centralize them. If there is a spot that is good for one class (e.g. a class that can hit multiple levels will not be good for a class that can only hit enemies on the same platform as them), it should just be noted next to it. -- 02:25, 28 July 2013 (UTC)
 * I was satisfied, as a player, with choice B. The tables are unnecessary on this page. We just need suggested level, monster name, and location. Suggested classes can have a few details related to efficiency, as mentioned in my first reply. -- 01:56, 29 July 2013 (UTC)
 * I recommend putting a simple link (e.g. *See Training locations for where to power level. ) to the training guide page under each job section since you're gonna be removing the training sections from the class pages (good idea!). -- 03:40, 29 July 2013 (UTC)
 * No worries. I took care of it on the Thief page as a reminder. -- 03:42, 29 July 2013 (UTC)

Losing progress
Hey PirateIzzy. Losing your cache when you hit back on the browser is a little browser dependent. For example, I can hit back in Firefox or Chrome, and as long as I hit Forward without going to a different link, I don't lose what I had in the edit box. Which browser and operating system are you using? Maybe you could try some alternatives and see if you still have the same problem.  Pro cyon  00:30, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

MS Sprite Ripping
I'm no good at extracting from the databases. I looked into it a bit, but didn't find a way to do it. I usually just copy from a different database or make my own sprite from a screenshot by deleting pixels. You can never get a good aura when you do this as those elements have transparency in game. I usually end up erasing them as I can't make them look good. I know it's not the best way, but it is sufficient as everyone can tell what it is by its face until we get a better image. Good luck on your search. -- 16:44, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
 * I might be able to do a few. Please don't waste my time with non-GMS sprites. You can upload screenshots here and in the description link it to this discussion (with User talk:PirateIzzy ). I will delete the screenshots afterwards. I recommend that you download GIMP and begin learning how to do this yourself. There are thousands of image editing tutorials online to give you practice using the software. All I am going to do is crop the image to the sprite, and zoom in with the erase tool and erase everything around its border, then export as a .png file. -- 16:34, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
 * You can upload whatever images to StrategyWiki as long as they aren't too big. Then link me all of the file names. If I do a few, promise me that you'll try to do one or two. =) It would be great if you could learn. -- 17:22, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Like I said in my first comment, you should just find the border of the sprite and cut out the aura. The aura is impossible to copy via the photo editing method. You have to extract the image file from the .wz database to preserve the alpha channel (transparency) correctly, and I can't help with that. -- 17:56, 21 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Wait, if you don't play MS anymore, then why are you helping with the guide? o_O I mean, I help, too, and I'm not playing right now, but I might play again in a year or two. -- 18:12, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

Major change to the MS guide
I will begin to remove all of the item pages from the ToC. I have come to the conclusion that this is an unnecessary part of the content that we provide, and unnecessary to our goal: to provide a good guide for players. No one cares about the specifics of quest items and such, and the database websites have those written down. People just want to know where to go, and what to do, and what items to look for, and how to be stronger. We have a decent quest guide, and we can keep that up. Items in the quest pages are fine, I just don't want to try to maintain appendices pages for all of the weapon types - this information can reside on individual class pages if people want to build them up (which makes sense because thats where they will be looking for information the most anyways). -- 16:26, 22 August 2013 (UTC)
 * To revise that statement, I am revising the scope. An official note will be put in the talk page of the main page. But basically, we do not need any information about specific events. General events are ok. Event info is the most volatile and temporary of all MS content. Secondly, we do not need drop icons or info. Equipment info is fine. Class-specific equipment is the easiest to work with and should be on the class walkthrough page. I don't think there should be a separate page for each class' equipment (no one fills those out). A chairs page is okay because chairs give stats and are actually useful. Plus, everyone collects them. -- 18:26, 22 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes, Paco doesn't play MS. Well, our whole problem has been 1) not enough editors, and 2) not enough representatives from all of the versions. If we don't limit the scope, we end up like MapleWiki, which has a very different layout and capability compared to our MapleStory guide, which is just a minor section of our wiki. The point is, we cannot accurately cover everything, nor give users the best experience here. Yes, we used to have a lot of traffic to our monster pages because they covered all versions of the game, but it will never be completed. A GMS-only guide can 1) not only be verified by our English editors (of which 95% of us have as our native tongue), but 2) be limited in scope to actually be completed. We are a strategy guide, after all. Not a database like Hidden-Street. MapleWiki could definitely use you, if you wish to pursue the database/description stuff. Content goes stale too often imo. Keeping it simple makes it easier for everyone here. Plus, a lot of stuff is trivial. Like the event items. They aren't even used anymore. Are there any pages I should not touch while you copy the content from them? I will not be messing with the monster pages. -- 15:44, 23 August 2013 (UTC)
 * What items did you upload? I will be keeping all of the equipment, for sure. -- 16:05, 23 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Also, take a look at http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Talk:MapleStory#MapleStory_guide_scope -- 16:05, 23 August 2013 (UTC)
 * I know my comments/ideas are a little over the top, but I have to think about all of these before I can decide what is best. The scope (linked above) lists all of my firm decisions. I have decided to keep items. In the past I was dismayed that no one helped make these before, but if we leave them people will update them. However, I have an idea to improve this process. What do you think about creating a column for these database lists that includes a "Last updated" column where we can put our signature? I think that would entice people to make changes (MapleStory players are very egotistical and would love to have their contributions known). -- 16:52, 23 August 2013 (UTC)
 * What do you think about combining the MapleStory/Food and MapleStory/Potions pages? -- 16:52, 23 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Well, at the moment, since you're the primary editor for the guide, I don't want to make you leave, so if your favorite part is adding new monsters, then I will allow it. It's better to have some active content going in then nothing at all. I mean, really, you have as much of a say in this as I do. I'm just trying to make the best strategy guide, while reducing how much work we have to do to maintain it. As a compromise, you can keep uploading non-GMS monsters, but why don't we create a new page for them? E.g. "New monsters", "Unreleased monsters", etc.? What page name(s) would you want? To be able to do what you want, but to keep it clear that they are not in the game? -- 18:33, 24 August 2013 (UTC)

Yes, I will help with the other changes you requested. Don't be afraid to edit Template:MapleStory/TOC/Quests. That's the one you were talking about, right (you didn't link it)?  Why remove Theme Dungeons from this template? They have quests. Are there no quests at Lion King Castle? Should we order the quest links alphabetically or by some sort of level order? I think alphabetical is the only way the order will make sense. I think Ellin Forest is a theme dungeon now, as the quest chain rewards you with a medal. However, it is difficult to determine what is a "theme dungeon". Basically, Mushroom Castle counts because they explicitly say it is a theme dungeon when you walk in. However, a similar message does not appear for any of the other ones (e.g. Kerning Square does not say "Theme Dungeon: Kerning Square..."). Note that a lot of these zones were isolated, e.g. Sakura Castle and Kerning Square. Kerning used to be a Taiwan-only World Tour-like zone (called Taipei 101) before it was brought to GMS. Ellin Forest is similar to these other zones because it is also a dead-end zone (like a cave). There is no secondary exit except for the one you came from. I don't care if it is included in theme dungeons or not in our guide, but it is very similar to the others. Even the way you get there is similar: an invite quest from Spiegelmann at Lv. 95.  -- 20:39, 24 August 2013 (UTC)

Monster resistances
The monster resistances are long out of date. At one point I think MS removed most of the elemental strengths of monsters, but I am not sure (I always played non-elemental characters). I don't think anyone cares about sorting by resistances. Are you thinking of redoing the page, or scrapping the page and just putting resistance info in the info column on the normal monster pages? -- 17:16, 2 September 2013 (UTC)


 * Yes, the elemental list and complete list should be combined. I updated the intro; neutral monsters should be listed with "neutral" next to its name, otherwise it looks like no one knows its elemental resistances. I am changing the page name again to conform to our standards and break the double subpaged hierarchy (e.g. MapleStory/Monsters/whatever should not be used in the long run). -- 15:35, 3 September 2013 (UTC)


 * The new page name is MapleStory/Complete monster list. -- 16:20, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

Archives and bots
To archive a page all you do is delete all of the content that you want archived. Then you go to the history, pull up the old page or diff and copy the URL. Put the URL on the current page in an archive box. There is archive, but I like the custom table I made a long time ago. You can copy it from my talk page.

I've been here for six+ years and no one has fully helped me out with bots. >_< I'm hoping someone will make a bot guide some time for the admins. First, you wouldn't be able to get bot access since you don't have admin privileges yet. Then, you have to create a new account for your bot (e.g. PirateIzzyBot; you can do this now if you want to reserve the name, but no guarantee that you will get priveledges). Then a bureaucrat has to give the bot account bot privileges. That's just the set up. Then you have to set up the bot on your end. I don't know where to begin. I thought AutoWikiBrowser was a bot for a long time, but all it does is find pages where a given search term is (and I never got it to work in a way that was reliable or made sense to me >_<). You can feed these results into a bot. Most bots are programmed by the people themselves. If you see someone with a bot (here or elsewhere) ask specific detailed questions on how you can get your hands on the tool(s) they use.

Guide/Regular expressions will help, too. -- 15:24, 4 September 2013 (UTC)


 * The bots are not active programs. They only run when someone tells them to, and they have to be programmed to specifically remove or add content. It would be faster to do it by hand if there is only one page where the monster info is and one page where the list is. However, what you want is a dynamic list across pages, which would not be safe to program or maintain since we allow public editing. That is one benefit to the MapleStory databases like Hidden Street. -- 22:21, 4 September 2013 (UTC)


 * To archive stuff, just delete it and tell me when you've done that and I'll do the rest the first time and give you specific instructions on how to do it in the future. Sound good? -- 22:21, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

To archive: -- 16:21, 5 September 2013 (UTC)
 * 1) Delete content that is out of date/to be archived.
 * 2) At the top of the page (in Monobook theme, not sure about Dolphin - the current default) click "history".
 * 3) Click on (or open a new tab) the date stamp (e.g. "15:21, September 4, 2013" without quotes for Archive #1) for the last edit before you deleted content (that loads the page as it was before you deleted stuff).
 * 4) Copy the URL (you could combine this with #3 if you know hot to right click copy URL from the link).
 * 5) Edit the current talk page and add the URL as a new entry in the archives table. Just copy the line for archive #1 and fill in the URL, change the archive number, and change the archive date. Done.