StrategyWiki:Staff lounge/2012/July

PAL region release dates
I want to create pal, but DrBob deleted the template the last time I created it. He referenced this post: http://forums.strategywiki.org/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=26115 which no longer exists, and I couldn't find one at ABXY. Why can't we have a pal template? We need it for games like Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun. -- 15:54, 3 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I can't find that topic either, but I did find this one. Like I said there, PAL is Europe and Australasia, which have their own templates, and, nine times out of ten, have different release dates. So, a separate PAL template doesn't make sense to me. -- 17:30, 3 July 2012 (UTC)
 * PAL is huge; it includes more than half of the countries of the world (Europe, Middle East, Asia, part of South America, part of Africa, Greenland, South East Asia, and Australia). Yes, these countries/areas often have their own release dates, but in some cases there are official PAL releases. I don't mind if our policy is to add 10 rd templates to a page instead of PAL, but we need a decision. My vote is for a simplified template unless there are specific release dates. In some cases, we might add PAL and find out later the individual dates, in which case we can change the page. -- 17:50, 3 July 2012 (UTC)
 * How often do we even know specific dates for Africa or Greenland, anyway? I think in most cases we can get away with just listing Europe and Australia and only listing other countries (with their specific templates) when necessary. Wanderer (talk) 22:49, 3 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I agree with Wanderer, NMH. An EU release date is pretty much synonymous with a PAL release date, and how I've always worked.  What icon would you use for PAL, and how can you guarantee that everyone understands what is meant by a general PAL release date?  I'd rather keep the release dates on a system/region level, and not delve into the issue of TV standards.  Then you open pandora's box for listing 480p, 1080i, 720p, 1080p, etc. as well.  Not that I would object to that, but I think it should be kept separate from release dates.   Pro  cyon  22:54, 3 July 2012 (UTC)
 * The TV standards isn't the issue. It's really about the release date region. I was under the impression, due to repeatedly running into PAL rd's on Wikipedia, that this was a legitimate thing. But then when I go to investigate further I only find proof of, say, an EU rd. The latest instance of this was with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agatha_Christie:_Evil_Under_the_Sun and then running into a more specific entry related to JoWooD Entertainment (see http://strategywiki.org/w/index.php?title=Agatha_Christie%3A_Evil_Under_the_Sun&diff=620313&oldid=620311 ). Unfortunately, I don't know how to prove that it is November 16 rather than 23, as found on GameFAQs. -- 03:23, 4 July 2012 (UTC)

Dragon Warrior 3 enemies and control selector linking
Another big issue: Dragon Warrior III/Enemies. This page is huge and uses control selector to combine three pages in one. To upgrade the walkthrough of the game, we need to link to the enemies whenever there is a reference. However, we cannot currently link to enemies of the other versions (I created the IDs for the names, so a proper link will put the reader down to the right monster, but the control selector will not change from NES so GBC/SNES users end up having to scroll back up to change it, and then back down to find the enemy again).

The question is: is there a way to set the control selector opt value when linking? If not, is there a way to add it? If not, then do you agree that the best solution is another overhaul of the enemies page where we combine all three versions into the tables and remove control selector from the page? Is walkthrough linking to enemies useful/necessary/wanted? I want this guide to be featured. -- 17:37, 4 July 2012 (UTC)
 * As was mentioned from the get go, the control selector isn't meant to be used for lots of tabular information the way you did. You can see on enemies pages in other guides that individual sections for enemies with alphabetTOC at the top works just fine and avoids these problems. So yes, I would say it needs an overhaul. — Najzere  ·  Talk  18:44, 4 July 2012 (UTC)
 * It was fun while it lasted. -- 19:47, 4 July 2012 (UTC)