StrategyWiki:Staff lounge

__NEWSECTIONLINK__

Welcome to all users! This page is where people can ask StrategyWiki-related questions to the staff and senior community figures, and they will do their best to answer. If you want to raise a topic for discussion (rather than just ask about it), please use community issues instead. New issues are entered here, with the most recent at the bottom of the page. Please review the Table of Contents to see if your issue has already been raised; also check the archives (to the right) in case it was discussed some time ago.

To facilitate ease of browsing and replying, please:
 * 1) Place your question at the bottom of the list
 * 2) Title the question (by placing the title between equals signs: ==title==)
 * 3) Sign your name and date (by adding two hyphens and four tildes: --~ )

For regular members only: Wikipedia article draft
Hi everyone. Echelon asked me to help write a draft of an article that would be contributed to Wikipedia about StrategyWiki. Aside from the history (how the site began, which I'm not especially knowledgeable about), I have drafted two of the sections, the Mission and the Milestones. I think what I've done is very rough and in need of much improvement, but it should serve as a good foundation. It would mean a lot to this site if all of the regulars took a stab at molding and shaping it until we have an article worthy of depositing on Wikipedia. Have a go at it here: Wikipedia_Article. Thank you! Procyon 21:57, 2 February 2007 (CST)
 * The problem is notability. Unless outside sources have noted StrategyWiki, well then it is not supposed to exist on Wikipedia. --Notmyhandle 01:32, 3 February 2007 (CST)
 * It needs to be notable so that it can be verifiable. I wouldn't bother putting an article about this site on there unless it has at least three outside sources (not here, or blogs, but gaming sites might due).  Or perhaps one major news story (like a cnn/nbc kind of thing).  As far as I know we've gotten some attention for challenging gamefaqs, but that isn't notability in itself. -- Mason11987 (Talk - Contributions) 08:29, 3 February 2007 (CST)
 * What do you guys think of these sources? I am hesitant to say that they alone are enough, but I do think that they would serve well in our defense should our notability be challenged. If we need more sources, perhaps we can simply look into help--I know of a reporter at Wired, for instance.  ech elon  23:57, 3 February 2007 (CST)
 * I believe the key here is to get increasingly notable press for our project. I would like to start seeing GameFAQs regulars switching over to StrategyWiki; a Wikipedia article would only serve as an additional claim to our relevance, and though such would not be the ultimate measure of our project's worth I do believe it can and will serve as a talking point in converting GameFAQs contributors into StrategyWiki contributors. It is ultimately these people of whom we must garner the respect and support of. Random articles and Diggs may help us get more traffic, but they alone will not likely net us the hardcore contributors.  ech elon  00:07, 4 February 2007 (CST)
 * Maybe it's time we got slashdotted. Oh, and a better server while we're at it. GarrettTalk 01:34, 4 February 2007 (CST)


 * I think the Kotaku, MIT Convergence Culture Consortium, Joystiq, and perhaps lifehacker are all good don't bother with digg or delicious obviously.  It'll be a tough call to be sure on notability.  The only thing that could cause us problems is if we don't directly follow policy.  We can't attempt to game the system and using sockpuppets will sadly put our site in a more negative light.  I think we should start the article and use those three (perhaps four) articles as sources.  Ensure that all the information is sourced and meaningful to people outside of just this small group here.  -- Mason11987 (Talk - Contributions) 18:45, 4 February 2007 (CST)
 * I doubt the article will have much length, but why not give it a try. Even if it gets deleted eventually we can bring it back. --Notmyhandle 20:18, 4 February 2007 (CST)
 * Just to note, we do get classed in the top 100k websites according to Alexa, though thats only on Sundays... it'll take a little while before our 3 month avg is above 100k. -- Prod (Talk) 22:34, 4 February 2007 (CST)


 * I added our site to the list of sites using MediaWiki, which could count as a reliable source (sort of) because all links on that page are checked for the fact that they A:exist and B:do use MediaWiki. --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 20:41, 7 February 2007 (CST)

qif, switch, parser functions, and meta
First of all, I noticed that qif is protected, but switch is not. I wonder if that's intentional or an oversight, since they are both "control" templates.

I'm also wondering whether the possibility of installing ParserFunctions has be examined and rejected, or if it has not been considered before. I believe it's supposed to be better (for the server) compared to implementing controls via hacking the template system.

Finally, can interwiki links be implemented for meta? I was gonna link to meta's article on ParserFunctions first, then when previewing discovered that didn't work, and had to change the interlink to wikipedia instead... (too lazy to copy the entire path for meta). Or if it's already in, can someone tell me the syntax for it? (I tried both m: and meta:, neither worked). -Afker 01:55, 26 February 2007 (CST)
 * Link These would be quite useful. -- Mason11987 (Talk - Contributions) 09:12, 26 February 2007 (CST)


 * And did you mean wikimedia or mediawiki? I assume the first, but both might be useful, I suggest wm and mw respectively if this is done. -- Mason11987 (Talk - Contributions) 09:14, 26 February 2007 (CST)
 * I say we stick to what wikipedia does. -- Prod (Talk) 10:03, 26 February 2007 (CST)
 * works (that's what Meta used to be called). Not sure about MediaWiki.org. GarrettTalk 13:05, 26 February 2007 (CST)


 * Do you guys still want the parser functions installed? We're upgraded to MW 1.9--doesn't it support some kind of internal parsing?  ech elon  23:21, 28 February 2007 (CST)
 * I'm not familar with the new features in 1.9, but Wikipedia is on 1.10 alpha and still has parser function installed. So I would conjecture that 1.9's new features still doesn't cover the features provided by parser functions. -Afker 00:27, 1 March 2007 (CST)

Request to change wikia interwiki url
Currently, interwiki links of the form  $1  gets parsed as  http://www.wikia.com/wiki/Index.php/$1 . I would like to request it being changed to  http://www.wikia.com/wiki/$1  so that it will work with wikia's own redirect feature. Thank you. -Afker 04:01, 26 February 2007 (CST)


 * Bump. Pretty please? -Afker 01:49, 6 March 2007 (CST)
 * I wonder why this was overlooked, Ech is definitely someone to ask (as you did). --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 18:53, 12 March 2007 (CDT)

Buttons Over Edit Window
I've found that the buttons above the edit box are wierd when the edit is previewed here, I'm not sure if it's something that I've done or the upgrade to 1.9, can someone please help--Rocky   ( Talk Contributions ) 13:40, 26 February 2007 (CST)
 * Note: by "weird", it is meant that they're floating at the bottom of the rightmost TOC list. --DrBob (Talk) 13:51, 26 February 2007 (CST)


 * Oops, my bad, it's probably 1.9 because it wasn't like that before but I'd like to know why--Rocky
 * I've noticed this too. A clear break (-) at the very end will fix it at least for editing, but I don't know what effect that will have on other pages. GarrettTalk 15:21, 26 February 2007 (CST)
 * Yes. http://strategywiki.org/w/skins/BlueCloud/index.css needs to have "#toolbar { clear: both; }" added to it. --DrBob (Talk) 11:08, 28 February 2007 (CST)
 * Just for the record, our live index.css file is actually located at http://66.225.234.224/w/skins/BlueCloud/index.css since it's a static file and thttpd handles static files much better than Apache can. The other copy on strategywiki.org is just a dead CSS file.--Dan 08:02, 2 March 2007 (CST)
 * Initially after the upgrade we were using the non-thttpd copy by mistake. We'll switch to thttpd now for all skin files and uploads. I would like to see it have an alternate URL such as 'media.strategywiki.org', though since it'd be much more professional.  ech elon  09:28, 2 March 2007 (CST)

Policy Question
Is it against policy/rules to post a link on your userpage to something beneficial to you; i.e. a game like outwars, or your own personal website? --Notmyhandle 19:53, 1 March 2007 (CST)
 * If we're following wikipedia policy, as long as you don't break any laws, do whatever you want in your userspace. -- Prod (Talk) 19:56, 1 March 2007 (CST)
 * Yeah, I've been encouraging Snesmaster not to advertise his websites everywhere but his userpage, where I told him that was encouraged. So have at it.  Procyon 20:24, 1 March 2007 (CST)

Boxart Question
I was wondering, what is the general concensus on boxart images here? I've seen some of the boxart, such as that for Final Fantasy XII, and the image... looks a little weird (which I commented on the pages talk page), and at some point or other I'm going to upload a better image for it, but what about PAL covers? Do you include those too, as there is a large portion of PAL gamers and games out here, and some of the PAL covers are more aesthetically pleasing than some of the NTSC or Japanese covers. It's a minor point, but I've discovered from my time at Wikipedia that edit wars have started over less :-P


 * See Hyper Street Fighter II and Namco Museum Battle Collection for examples on how to handle that. Procyon 08:09, 2 March 2007 (CST)


 * I have FFXII that I lent to soemone, I may be able to get a better shot of it when I get it back, although I'd like to see the PAL art. -- Mason11987 (Talk - Contributions) 09:41, 2 March 2007 (CST)


 * Why not have animated .GIF files for the boxart that rotate through the different versions? I agree that (in the case of Final Fantasy games especially) alternative PAL artwork often looks much better.LeftHandedGuitarist 12:38, 2 March 2007 (CST)


 * Absolutely not. Animated GIFs should be used sparingly, and only for sprites, or complicated maneuvers that aren't easily explained.  Any of the box arts can be featured as the "primary" art in the infobox.  The remaining images should be included in a gallery on the front page.  Procyon 13:37, 2 March 2007 (CST)


 * I agree with Procyon. Animated GIFs are just a bit over the top for something that mundane.  A gallery is a little more clean and presentable.-- Duke  Ruckley  15:04, 2 March 2007 (CST)
 * I think the game with the most boxarts currently is Capcom vs. SNK 2. --Notmyhandle 18:54, 2 March 2007 (CST)
 * Er... have you looked at Pac-Man??? ^_^;  Procyon 19:27, 2 March 2007 (CST)
 * O_O I'm speechless... Wow. --Notmyhandle 19:33, 2 March 2007 (CST)
 * Golden Axe seems to be catching up! -- Prod (Talk) 23:18, 2 March 2007 (CST)
 * Hey, that's not fair :( I didn't include all of the compilation games that Pac-Man was included in on his page (like all of the Namco museums).  If I did, it would get ridiculous. Procyon 09:28, 3 March 2007 (CST)


 * Anyways, the PAL boxart pretty much boils down to this, 'cept it has the usual 'playstation 2' and stuff on it. I think it looks a lot cooler, and is in line with most of the other Final Fantasy title covers, it keeps a bit of a consistancy in the series, but that's just my opinion.--Froglet 03:17, 3 March 2007 (CST)

Userbox
I've got a way to make our userboxes into Wikipedia style see here, can someone with a little more experience help me put this into a template please--Rocky   ( Talk Contributions ) 08:26, 4 March 2007 (CST)
 * Sure thing, how does Template:Userbox sound?; by the way, don't be so impatient - most of us are in different time zones, we don't get paid for this and we are busy with other stuff all the time so just wait for a response next time (like you messaging Proc). --Notmyhandle 16:50, 5 March 2007 (CST)
 * Hey will you look at that, it already exists! --Notmyhandle 16:50, 5 March 2007 (CST)
 * Check out Wpuserbox. --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 17:15, 5 March 2007 (CST)

Sorry, I didn't mean to come across as impatient but thanks anyway--Rocky   ( Talk Contributions ) 00:53, 6 March 2007 (CST)

Expansion Games, addons, not separate
For games like Diablo II and Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, the game is simply modified; much like WoW and the Burning Crusade and Everquest with all of its expansions (I think).

The game is however, isolated from its expansion pack, so LoD players can play with D2 players on Bnet. The problem though is redundancy, since Diablo II/Act I will be the same for Diablo II: Lord of Destruction with minor changes related to the various advantages included in LoD. So, should the Diablo II/Act I page be modified to include the expansion pack like Garrett did with that one game with the Raven... Gothic II? Or should two separate pages exist? --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 22:51, 7 March 2007 (CST)
 * Diablo II/Act 1 should be modified to include LoD stuff, and then the appropriate LoD page should be redirected to it (or linked in some other way — perhaps through transclusion). --DrBob (Talk) 01:21, 8 March 2007 (CST)
 * The method I used for Gothic II: Night of the Raven would be the easiest; transclusion allows Header Nav to still link to the expansion itself (with the parent method, all pages but the first instead link back to the original game), but the problem is you have to create transcluded versions of every page. Using sidebars like I did for Gothic II/Chapter 1: The Menace could work well, depending on how much new content is to be covered on the page (Gothic II has a lot, so it gets a bit messy). The advantage of using an image header rather than text is it's immediately identifiable and you don't have to keep putting "LoD changes" or whatever in the sidebar. GarrettTalk 01:40, 8 March 2007 (CST)

Something funky going on here...
Have a look at Move Lists/Capcom/CVS2. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but what I see is at some point, in the middle of M.Bison's move list, the templates just seem to stop working. If I take one of the characters whose list occurs below M.Bison's, and move them up above Ken's, it appears fine, and Kyosuke's move list messes up instead. It's making me think that there's some hard-limit on template usage per page. Is that the case? Will that page need to be broken up in order to appear properly? Or is there some other way to fix the cause of this problem? Thanks everyone. Procyon 12:21, 13 March 2007 (CDT)
 * Check the source, it says "WARNING: template omitted, pre-expand include size too large". -- Prod (Talk) 12:48, 13 March 2007 (CDT)
 * I think the answer is to transclude the documentation for cade from a sub-page of the template, so that the size of cade is kept down. That's what MediaWiki's complaining about. --DrBob (Talk) 13:07, 13 March 2007 (CDT)
 * Seems to be fixed now. -- Prod (Talk) 13:34, 13 March 2007 (CDT)
 * Wow, awesome job guys, thanks so much. Procyon 14:10, 13 March 2007 (CDT)
 * I suppose this could potentially be a problem on all of Blendmaster's templates where he laid out examples for users, although the likelihood that any page will exhibit the same problem as CvS2 is extraordinarily small. I just wanted to bring up the possibility, but I suppose it's best to deal with it on a case by case basis.  Procyon 14:13, 13 March 2007 (CDT)

PAL vs. NTSC
Okey dokey, I wanted to start the guide for a game called Another Code: Two Memories, so I looked it up on Wikipedia and found that in America it's called Trace Memory - which do we go with? Personally I think that Another Code sounds better, but I'm horrifically biased because I've got the European copy of the game. Another mind-bending consideration is that the European title is the literal translation of the Japanese, and I see that there's a discussion about this issue on wikipedia. -Froglet 04:14, 27 March 2007 (CDT)
 * Okay, I've just started the page, see what I'm doing here (I'm sure somebody out there will be happy that I even added redirects, boxart and categories, I really am getting better at this :-P)--Froglet 07:26, 27 March 2007 (CDT)
 * Nice job Froglet. Yeah, it really doesn't matter too much which name the guide is presented under, as long as the redirects exist, and that the redirects are given the proper categories as well so that players who are looking up all of the DS games that we have guides for, can find the title that they know the game by.  Which title actually hosts the guide isn't as important as users being able to find it.  Procyon 09:13, 27 March 2007 (CDT)

I agree with Procyon that it doesn't really matter all that much, but unfortunately (as you can see with the Wikipedia article), other people do care. There will probably be a case in the future where this becomes a problem, and I feel that it might be a good idea to set up some sort of policy now. I'm of the view that a game should be called by whatever the more common name is, when there is a dispute. In the case of Dark Cloud 2 from the wikipedia article, it is currently called Dark Cloud 2 because it is more commonly known as that between English speaking users (Americans and Europeans). I'd be interested in hearing others' thoughts on this, as it is actually a very important policy that we should set up before it becomes a rather large problem. As for Another Code: Two Memories... You've done a great job with it, so I don't think there should be any problems at least for a while.-- Duke Ruckley  09:21, 27 March 2007 (CDT)
 * The official (unwritten?) policy is to name by official name of the game (bad grammar and all). If there is more than one official name, the most commonly known name is to be used (google war?).  With games where those are almost equal, flip a coin! (I don't think it really matters, as long as the redirect has categories).  -- Prod (Talk) 09:49, 27 March 2007 (CDT)
 * And I'd rather not see SW sink to that level of bureaucracy if it can be avoided. I think it comes down to who ever is motivated to start the guide first.  If a European wants to start a guide for a game whose name happens to be different in America, then so be it.  As long as the categorized redirects are in place, all we're talking about is a bunch of letters that go in front of a backslash.  I think it becomes more important to wikipedians because there is generally only one page per entry, so people have a greater stake in the name that gets chosen as the most prominent. Procyon 09:59, 27 March 2007 (CDT)
 * Agreed with Procyon. Unless one name is much more commonly used (globally) than the other, the one which is used should be the one chosen by the original guide author. --DrBob (Talk) 10:54, 27 March 2007 (CDT)
 * Fair enough. Keep in mind though, that as StrategyWiki gets larger and larger, we'll be forced to become more and more bureaucratic unless we make these discussions policy.  If it becomes policy that the original author chooses which name to use, then it'll be easier to work out any problems that arise down the road.-- Duke  Ruckley  15:07, 27 March 2007 (CDT)
 * I put what I got was the consensus of this discussion into the naming policy. Please revise it if it is incorrect or in need of revision. --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 20:18, 27 March 2007 (CDT)

Monobook Problems
I just looked at the site in Monoboox and there is something really wrong with the bar on the side of Lunar Knight's and My user pages, it can be fixed on bluecloud with one  but monobook needs two, why does this happen? Feel free to take a look because I haven't fixed it yet.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 05:04, 2 April 2007 (CDT)
 * Just a guess, but it might be because of the different layout in monobook (btw, is my page messed up too, because I use the same sidebar that you do). --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 18:03, 2 April 2007 (CDT)
 * Yeah, I tried to fix it and failed dismally, sorry. Just to note, this only happens after you've refreshed the cache.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 10:09, 7 April 2007 (CDT)

List of Towns
I've got a slight question about a guide I'm doing - Port Royale 2. I've got a map of all the towns and would like to imagemap it so you can select each town, the problem is that there are 60 towns and I'm on the verge, 60 articles is a a bit excessive but they would have a lot of information in, what do you guys think, should I create 60 articles or just leave out the towns?--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 15:46, 8 April 2007 (CDT)
 * If it's possible to group a few towns on the same page (based on unlocking/visiting order, or just regions), that might be a better. If you can reduce the amount of information to just what is necessary for the guide, then do that.  If adding the towns helps the player get through the game in any way, then definately add it, irrespective of size. -- Prod (Talk) 16:12, 8 April 2007 (CDT)
 * If there are towns that are identical in features and only differ in name you could cover them together. Mount&Blade has about 20 towns, but there are only about five town layouts which are then recycled between them. GarrettTalk 16:15, 8 April 2007 (CDT)
 * 60 towns sounds like they aren't very detailed, you could just put them all on one page. If they are as diverse as say, Ironforge of World of Warcraft (note that SW doesn't have info on it yet) well then you're going to have 60 sub pages... --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 21:04, 8 April 2007 (CDT)
 * There's no actual order for the pages and there's a lot of info that could be put in, I'll do it. --Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 02:02, 9 April 2007 (CDT)

Material "copied from a similar free resource"
Is info taken (not directly copied due to the format of the guide here) from the GFDL JP Wikipedia alright? Also, how should it be cited? (See my first contribution for a more detailed explanation of what I am talking about.) Y0u 00:10, 13 April 2007 (CDT)
 * If it's GFDL you can copy it straight up, just gather all the contributor names and paste them in either the talk page or the summary field (if there's too many for the summary field try the talk page and in the summary page just say JP WP). Question, do IP addresses need to be recorded as well?  And all you have to do is copy/re-write it, plus since its coming from Japanese it wouldn't be hard to do a re-write since like 99% of translations aren't literally the same, diction and connotation wise.  --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 01:44, 13 April 2007 (CDT)
 * United States copyright law provides equal protection for "Anonymous Works, [and] Pseudonymous Works" so listing IP is just as necessary as a username. GarrettTalk 03:56, 13 April 2007 (CDT)
 * If the wikipedia page isn't going to be deleted, it's probably easier to provide a link in the edit summary and not bother with full attribution. -- Prod (Talk) 21:48, 13 April 2007 (CDT)

Colored text
For the guide I'm creating, Pardus, there are different factions with equipment that affects game-play quite severely. What I'm looking for is just a simple way to color my text so I can color faction specific parts accordingly.
 * Look here for some examples. But be aware that some colors do not contrast well against white, so please choose your colors wisely. Procyon (Talk) 14:40, 17 April 2007 (CDT)

Email address validation
Hi, I'm a newly registered user. I cannot seem to get my email address validated/authenticated/confirmed. I have waited a day but not received the confirmation email. I have tried sending another confirmation email from http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Special:Preferences. My email address is working in general. Are you aware of a problem? Pelago 15:38, 17 April 2007 (CDT)
 * I know that ABXY.org (StrategyWiki's parent site) has had some problems with this so if you don't get an answer, go ahead and message on his talk page.  He'll probably send you one himself. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 17:04, 17 April 2007 (CDT)
 * I just re-verified mine and I got one back in seconds. Perhaps it ended up in your spam or bulk folder? If you're using a webmail service you could also try adding [mailto:echelon@gmail.com echelon@gmail.com] to your address book (which is the address it will come from) which should let it bypass any filtering. GarrettTalk 23:43, 17 April 2007 (CDT)
 * I have no spam filtering on this account. I've just sent myself an email from my gmail account which worked so there doesn't seem to be a general problem with gmail mails getting through to me. But still the confirmation mails don't seem to be getting through. I'll message echelon. Pelago 12:34, 18 April 2007 (CDT)
 * Echelon has validated me manually by editing the database directly, many thanks. Pelago 16:38, 22 April 2007 (CDT)

Making your own maps
Has StrategyWiki got a problem with editing screenshots (e.g making a map or sewing them together in an image editor), I've just thoght about this now because I've done this a few times here and I'm wondering if it's a breach of fair use? Does anyone know if it's allowed?--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 15:29, 20 April 2007 (CDT)
 * Video game magazines have been doing that for years. If there was anything wrong with it, the magazine would have disappeared a long time ago.  We're not selling the information, or claiming that it's our own intellectual property, so there's really no problem.  Not to mention the fact that it's not as though modern-day Atari is really going to go after anyone over Chip's Challenge...  Procyon (Talk) 15:51, 20 April 2007 (CDT)

Table Problems
Yeah, I've been working on the Final Fantasy XII guide and I've duffed up the table in the Final Fantasy XII/Weapons Section big time. Can anyone help? I was trying to have a sort of two-tiered table, so that the stats would be on one 'tier', while how to get the weapons would be on the lower 'tier', so I wouldn't have an ultra-long, out-of-control table.--Froglet 08:02, 22 April 2007 (CDT)
 * I'll give it a try, please revert me if I go really wrong or it's not what you want.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 08:33, 22 April 2007 (CDT)
 * I've had a go but you may want 2 tables to deal with it.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 08:44, 22 April 2007 (CDT)
 * I was looking for something like this (sorry it looks so bad, it was made within the space of 5 minutes, somebody please delete it later on), but now I don't think that the wiki engine will let me without loss of somebody's sanity, so I'll just find another way. Thanks anyway, Rocky. :-P --Froglet 08:55, 22 April 2007 (CDT)
 * Come on IRC. with a bit of modification, it shouldn't be too bad :P. -- Prod (Talk) 08:59, 22 April 2007 (CDT)
 * Sorry, I've looked at the MW site for a bit, I think i've got it, just let me check--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 09:19, 22 April 2007 (CDT)
 * I think we need a new design idea. First of all, can you list all of the elements that are necessary (name, sell value, power, etc.).  Also describe what goes next to them (a value, misc. info, etc.) so we can judge if it can be integrated some how.  --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 16:07, 22 April 2007 (CDT)

Yep, I agree. The necessary attributes would be: Stuff that would be nice to add would be:
 * Attack Power
 * Evade
 * Special
 * Element
 * MP boost
 * Magick Power
 * Buy
 * Sell
 * Multiple
 * CT (charge time)
 * Shops where the items are available (the design of the game is such that you have to go to specific places for some items)
 * Which treasure chests/sidequests/hunts you can to do to get the item as a reward.
 * Which enemies you can kill or steal from to get the weapon.
 * Licence required to equip it.
 * Licence Points required to get the licence.

In all, this would be a huge table, so a better idea would be something like the template or something, like used here, so I'll try a layout out on the Weapons page, then mark the page for deletion and create separate pages due to the huge amount of information that there is about the weapons. I'll set about in an attempt. :-P --Froglet 07:48, 27 April 2007 (CDT)
 * ... and a while later, I have a rough sketch of a template/table thingummy up on the weapons page, could somebody please look through it and clean it up if necessary? I'm not familiar with the construction of such templates/tables, and it may need a bit of polishing.--Froglet 08:41, 27 April 2007 (CDT)

Latest on licence
Hi again. I asked at StrategyWiki_talk:License but thought I'd get more of a response here - I'm especially interested in hearing from Echelon. Is there any 'danger' of this Wiki being relicensed under a different license? I've held off contributing as it seemed a few months ago that there was a big interest in this wiki not being GFDL. I couldn't find any definitive statement one way or the other as to what the consensus was. The discussion just seemed to peter out. Pelago 16:42, 22 April 2007 (CDT)
 * It's pretty much too late for a relicense. If you are worried about your contributions not being under the GFDL, then don't worry, it's guaranteed they will always be GFDL (unless someone plagiarizes...).  If you are worried about a relicense getting rid of all your added info, don't worry since echelon will give access to the dumps and we can restart the website elsewhere.  -- Prod (Talk) 17:34, 22 April 2007 (CDT)

Main Page Completion no. and 100% guides questions
Are we meant to have redirects with completion levels, to me it seems a bit strange (e.g here). Also, I'm not sure of this but culd we use PAGESINNS (see here) to count the articles for the main page?Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 07:26, 28 April 2007 (CDT)
 * I think the reason Garrett was categorising the redirects with completion levels as well as categories was to help people search for the game in that name. (see here). As for PAGESINNS, the main reason I can see (why it is disabled) is because it is slow. This means that people will have to wait a long time (or not so long, I have no idea of how slow it really is) to load our main page, which in turn detracts visitors. --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 13:27, 28 April 2007 (CDT)
 * It might not actually be that slow, we don't know. For wikipedia it's bound to be slow, (over 1 and 3/4 articles) but for us, it's about 150 (when narrowed down), is it really that much. Also, would there be a way to protect it so that only admins can use it, a vandal could use it to slow down the site tremendously.Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 14:02, 28 April 2007 (CDT)
 * Yes, I do agree that we have absolutely no idea how slow it is. As for the protecting issue, I'm not sure we can restrict the use of parser functions (which is what PAGESINNS is). I currently am under the opinion that you cannot (restrict their use), but then again, I may be entirely wrong. I'll ask someone who would know a way if there is one. --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 14:52, 28 April 2007 (CDT)
 * I've actually got an idea for this if there if sum1 experienced can change the code a bit. My idea is to have a protected page list with all of the pages that it can be used on which the code uses.Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 15:07, 28 April 2007 (CDT)
 * By the way, now that I've looked at the wikicode for the Main Page, what is wrong with ? --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 16:04, 28 April 2007 (CDT)
 * We're already using that for the good count. As far as I know it can't be used as a way of counting category contents, however, which is what Rocky is wanting. GarrettTalk 20:10, 28 April 2007 (CDT)
 * My reasoning is that those looking for a game under their region's name (e.g. Probotector vs. Contra) will find it in all the right places, regardless of what the favoured name here is. I've only done it with stage 4 because their nums are unlikely to change, meaning the redirect won't be in danger of going out of synch. As for inflating the category, we've already got numerous compilations in there; while they are complete in and of themselves, the games they contain are not complete. It could be quite confusing for someone expecting a complete guide to all the games in a compilation to find it is only a Wikipedia-style article linking to mostly empty pages. GarrettTalk 20:10, 28 April 2007 (CDT)

Template:Castlevania
Could somebody with a fresh pair of eyes (well, hopefully a pair) who is familiar with the Castlevania series please look over this for me? I don't think I have every game listed under it and at the moment it's in a rather messy layout, but I can't really think of anything better. Any improvements appreciated. Thanks!--Froglet 03:54, 7 May 2007 (CDT)
 * From what I can see in wikipedia, Dracula_X:_Rondo_of_Blood is Demon Castle Dracula X: Reincarnation of Blood so I've redirected it, i'm fairly sure because of the date but please check.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 06:47, 7 May 2007 (CDT)
 * I believe it is, I'm none too familiar with the earlier entries in the series, but I reckon it's the same. Hopefully.--Froglet 06:56, 7 May 2007 (CDT)
 * I'm not familiar with the series at all :P.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 07:58, 7 May 2007 (CDT)

Import and Export
I want to export a page from this Wiki and import it in with a different name, is there a way to do this, I want it to transfer all of the pages from Pokémon Red and Blue to Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal while keeping the original pages (Obviously), how do I change the destination name or is there a simpler way to do this?Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 13:53, 7 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Sorry for the delayed response, but there is a much simpler way of doing it. On the GSC page, simply type (or whatever page you want in place of Pallet Town) and click "Save." Then, click on edit again and you'll be able to modify the content (since it is keeping the content inside the wiki, we don't need to keep the edit history to satisfy GFDL). Hope that helps, and make sure there are two colons after subst instead of one! --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 16:53, 9 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Thanks, I am such an idiot for not thinking about that.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 00:50, 10 May 2007 (CDT)

The Legend of Zelda (Game)
Why is The Legend of Zelda (Game) protected? And why is it on the Broken redirects page? --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 20:28, 9 May 2007 (CDT)
 * It was a link from Zelda wiki to here, it's not needed now and it's on the broken redirects because the delete tag points to the talk page, I don't want to delete it in case it is still needed.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 00:49, 10 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Should it redirect to the Zelda series category? --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 16:43, 10 May 2007 (CDT)
 * No. The redirect is not necessary, and the page shouldn't really be created again (it was temporary until Zelda Wiki fixed their link). --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 18:31, 10 May 2007 (CDT)

Uploading Images
I was trying to upload the A button for Wii, but I couldn't get it to look right, until I realized that I needed to clear the cache (and then it looked right). So, is there any way to make it automatically clear your cache whenever you upload an image? (I was seriously getting a headache) --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 14:19, 13 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Refreshing just works for me, but we could always change the system message to say you need to refresh, probably in big red bold writing. .--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 14:34, 13 May 2007 (CDT)

Achievement Campaign
Like them or loath them achievements have really taken the 360 by storm. Many people are now constantly trying to up their gamerscore. But lately I've seen very few guides with achievement lists. I think that alot of visitors to this site will come primarily for a list of the achievement for a game they have. Games that have alot of "Secret Achievements" will be requested even more so.

So I've decided to organise a little campaign to get achievement lists onto StrategyWiki. Especially on games like Viva Pinata, Final Fantasy XI and Lost Planet where the achievements don't all tie in with the main quest.

But I posted this up here to try and get one or two people too help me. But I also would like some advice on how these lists should be formatted. Like whether they should be in a table or just in a list, and whether there should be explanations. Post below if you're interested, you don't need to own alot of games but I think owning a 360 would help because then you should alot more about achievements. Thanks. Poiuytre 09:51, 15 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Great idea, I don't have a 360 but you could put it as a collaboration here and it then might get on the main page as the collaboration of the month.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 10:15, 15 May 2007 (CDT)


 * I agree with Rocky. I also don't have a 360, but this would make a terrific collaboration concept, that I would fully support.  Most of the classic arcade games that I have covered have achievement lists.  I'll try to mock one up for Pac-Man if I find some time.  (edit: I like the format that they use on this website.) Procyon (Talk) 10:24, 15 May 2007 (CDT)
 * For the overall achievements list a table will be the best way. For achievements earned during a specific quest or mission or whatever use Achievement beside the appropriate text (see Call of Duty 2/The Winter War for an example). GarrettTalk 15:41, 15 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Great idea; don't have a 360 but I love playing Geometry Wars at my buddies' place. I'll help where possible.  --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 17:15, 15 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Update: I've managed to complete the achievement section for Call of Duty 2. See here: http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Call_of_Duty_2/Achievements I think it looks good and if everyone can use that template for their achievement section in their guide then it'll look more consistent and neater throughout the site. One thing I would like for their to be added is an image category added for achievement pictures as I had no idea where to put them once uploaded. Something like Category:Achievements . Thanks Poiuytre 14:39, 21 May 2007 (CDT)


 * Has this been created yet????? Nobody has replied. Poiuytre 08:15, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Add an entry here and people can vote on it. -- Prod (Talk) 08:24, 28 May 2007 (CDT)


 * I´m ready to change all pictures to a Category:Achievements, if somebody creates that category. Foppe 11:55, 30 May 2007 (CDT)

Spectrobes Strategy Guide Sparse??
Why is the Spectrobes strategy guide considered sparse? The only sparse part is the Planets section (it has one complete planet, one sparse planet, and five empty planets). I think it is way more of a maturing article than a sparse one. Could one of you change its placing?? Sincerely and Gratefully, Myth 15:57, 20 May 2007 (CDT)
 * This classification is given by the num parameter in the Header Nav on the main Spectrobes page. Change it to whatever you believe is appropriate, taking into account that it's a value for how well it helps the player get through the game, not how much of the game it describes. -- Prod (Talk) 16:10, 20 May 2007 (CDT)

Oh, it's rated on how well it helps players beat the game? That exlains why it's considered Sparse. It does describe a lot about the game, but the actual strategy part is lacking. thanks for clearing that up. Sincerely, Myth 14:47, 21 May 2007 (CDT)

Games with their own Wikis
I was wondering if it might be a good idea to encourage those contributors who want to make a page about a game which has a dedicated Wiki of a significant size to contribute there rather than here. For example, ParagonWiki is an excellent Wiki for City of Heroes/Villains and WoWWiki is a large World of Warcraft Wiki. The main reason I suggest this is to A: prevent duplication of effort and B: those sites will be likely to get more thorough error checking. What do you think? MichaelAB 23:17, 22 May 2007 (CDT)
 * The thing is, one day we could just have that all here. If you look at both wikis, they are under GFDL; thus we are legally able to copy all of their content anyways, so why not have it here as well?  We do need the traffic, and if we had the contributors come here instead they might help with other stuff beyond just City of Heroes/Villains.  --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 02:09, 23 May 2007 (CDT)

Stylus picture?
How do you add a picture of a DS Stylus Tap onto an article?? Sincerely, Myth 11:56, 24 May 2007 (CDT)(User talk: Myth)


 * Add this code to the page, also if you want a link to your talk page there's an easier way to do it, make your sig like you want it in wikimarkup then copy it into signature in the preferences and tick raw signature--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 12:02, 24 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Additionally on sigs, Rocky I think you should make the "Rocky" of your sig linkable, most people wouldn't realize the rock links to your user page. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 12:39, 24 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Thanks for that, I forgot completely.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 13:55, 24 May 2007 (CDT)

Contributor of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess?
I would like to give major thanks to whoever created and contributed to the Twilight Princess walkthrough!! I just got a Wii and some games (including that one) about a week ago, and the walkthrough helped me beat the forest temple! Thanks a ton! Myth 23:46, 25 May 2007 (CDT)

Database error
I got this error while searching, is there a problem:

Database error

A database query syntax error has occurred. This may indicate a bug in the software. The last attempted database query was:

(SQL query hidden)

from within function "". MySQL returned error "1194: Table 'stratw_searchindex' is marked as crashed and should be repaired (localhost)".

--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 11:43, 27 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Must've been a temporary glitch. I tried a few searches and everything worked smoothly.  ech elon  17:49, 28 May 2007 (CDT)

How do you make this symbol?
How do you make the "e" in Pokemon? The Pokemon pages won't link correctly if you don't have the letter. Sincerely, Myth 18:44, 27 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Personally, I use Alt+130, but Alt+0489 works, and if you have an international keyboard (the one with Alt Gr), using that and e should work as well. Alternatively, just copy é and paste it whenever you need it. --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 20:10, 27 May 2007 (CDT)
 * I'm not sure Myth will understand the method you first spoke of. It's the same method that I use.  You press and hold the Alt button, and then on the number pad (and not on the numbers above the letters), enter 1, 3, and 0.  Then release the Alt key.  Procyon (Talk) 22:18, 27 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Below the edit box (scroll down a bit), there's a whole bunch of funny symbols that come in handy (along with a few useful codes and templates). -- Prod (Talk) 21:12, 27 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Does anyone mind if I put ♀ and ♂ in those symbols, it'd be helpful for nidoran.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 02:07, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Go right ahead, it would be useful for other things too. --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 09:39, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Done, just to note, the toolbar is here--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 10:06, 28 May 2007 (CDT)

Archiving?
How do you archive your talk page? Mine is getting rather large and many of the things previously discussed are over a week old and have been resolved. Please tell me how you do it. Thanks. Myth 19:49, 27 May 2007 (CDT)
 * There are two ways to archive a page.
 * One way is to go into your history and click the date of the page revision you want to archive. Then copy the URL and put it into the archive template (on your current talk page, not the old one) via.
 * Another way is to go into that old revision, click "edit," and copy the wiki code. Then, create a new page like User_talk:Myth/1 or User_talk:Myth/Archive/1 and paste the code in there (and save). Afterwards, go into your current talk page and put.
 * Either of those two ways work (the "some text" should somehow describe the archive, like the date of the archive or what it goes through). If you want to add more, simply add another pipe between the ] and the }} and follow the same procedure. Hope that helped!--Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 20:10, 27 May 2007 (CDT)

An example of #1 can be found here. -- Prod (Talk) 21:11, 27 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Or you can make a custom one like I did. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 22:28, 27 May 2007 (CDT)

MediaWiki Namespace
How come MediaWiki:editinginterface doesn't show up on pages in the MediaWiki namespace? It did a few months ago.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 10:12, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * No idea. Maybe the message was disabled or the software is trying to specify a nonexistant message instead of that one. It had it about a week ago when I was modifying MediaWiki:BlueCloud.css and MediaWiki:Common.css, but it's gone now. --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 10:20, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * When we updated to the latest version of mediawiki, it deleted all the "message" pages which were still defaults. -- Prod (Talk) 10:22, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * I know, but it should still appear despite that. Maybe if it was created it would work... Should I? --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 10:36, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * (conflict)But it was after the upgrade when I saw the message, I was only made a sysop last month and the upgrade happened in march, also is there a way to stop the Javascript prompt for a summary for redirects, there is an auto summary.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 10:45, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Somehow I have never recieved a summary javascript prompt; I use IE7, Spybot S&D and SpywareBlaster. Other than that I don't know why I'm immune.  --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 15:53, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * I never got one in IE6 either, in FireFox you get a prompt when not having a category in your images (Annoying when re-uploading) and a red message about the summary when it has only a few characters, the code in a (slightly more) readable format is here, it's about halfway down and it says at the top something about firefox.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 16:12, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * I use FireFox 2.0.0.3, and I don't get the stupid message telling me to put in a summary anymore. Categories on images is still a problem, though. --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 16:35, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * It still happens for me but only with redirects, try getting User talk:Rocky/test to redirect to my talk, for me, I get a red message when I click save.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 16:52, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Done and annoying-red-message free :P --Ryan SchmidtTalk - Contribs 17:00, 28 May 2007 (CDT)

(reset indent) Oh well, my computer's strange :P P.S I'm using FF 2.0.0.3 as well --Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 17:06, 28 May 2007 (CDT)

Bunch'a changes that I'm making/going to make.
Hi all. I just wanted to let everyone know, if they see a flood of edits from me, what I'm up to. When I started at StrategyWiki, I thought I knew better as to how to set up the guides, using page names like Elements and Strategy, and redirecting the Walkthrough links. Well, I realize now that this convention doesn't fit the site well, and it adds to confusion, so I'm doing the following:

All pages called "Elements" (and named "Control & Characters") will now be renamed "How to play". All pages named "Strategy" that were previously redirected from "Walkthrough" will now officially move to the "Walkthrough" page. I believe that these changes will lend themselves better to the organization of the site, and add to their consistency with other guides. If anyone has any thoughts, feel free to post them. Procyon (Talk) 21:15, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Now that I've done a few pages, it has occurred to me that perhaps "How to play" should be officially adopted into the Continue Nav. It would be such that if you didn't provide any nextpage at all, you automatically got "How to play" and "Walkthrough" as the two links.  Any thoughts? Procyon (Talk) 22:22, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Ugh, I didn't realize that "Getting started" was already chosen as the first default parameter. Nevermind.  Procyon (Talk) 22:25, 28 May 2007 (CDT)
 * Actually, the more I think about it, the more it concerns me. I'll move this discussion to Community Issues. Procyon (Talk) 09:24, 29 May 2007 (CDT)

Cell Shading
Can anyone tell me how to grey (more so than usual) in a cell in prettytables to indicate that it's a perameter not used in that particular area of the table? It's more visible than a simple '-', and there's a bit of light-greyspace that makes the Critical Hits and Combos table look like it's incomplete. It's just aesthetic, but I'm a bit of a completionist like that. :-P --Froglet 09:04, 30 May 2007 (CDT)


 * The same CSS style formats apply to a prettytable, they are just applied over them. So if you wanted, you could add bgcolor tag to the start of particular cells.  Have a look at the tables in this page of the Pokémon Red and Blue guide for examples on how to change the colors of the cells. Procyon (Talk) 10:05, 30 May 2007 (CDT)
 * You can always use n/a if you want.--Rocky http://media.strategywiki.org/images/thumb/7/78/Rally-X_Rock.png/25px-Rally-X_Rock.png (Talk - Contributions) 11:24, 30 May 2007 (CDT)