StrategyWiki:Staff lounge

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: --~ )

Cleanup and Wikify
What's the difference in usage between cleanup and wikify? -- Prod 23:03, 4 October 2006 (CDT)
 * Wikify is for pages which don't make use of wikimarkup (i.e. text-only guides which have been imported). It is to signify that they need to be marked-up correctly. Cleanup is for pages which do use wikimarkup, but which are in a mess; perhaps they aren't using it correctly, or aren't following the guidelines. --DrBob (Talk) 01:14, 5 October 2006 (CDT)

Wikiformat
I'm working on a guide for Trauma Center: Under the Knife. I have a text based system for now, but it isn't as useful as it could be. That's why I'm using strategy wiki for the guide. I am getting a digital camera and an SD card for pictures soon, so I can change the operations into a picture step by step format. This would make it hard to work onto 1 page and I need help with that. Someone set up a table of content on the page, but I don't know how to use it. I need to know how to make a new page for each operation but keep it part of the main page, and also the best format for uploading images. --Navy White 02:52, 10 October 2006 (CDT)


 * I'm not certain what kind of issue you're having with the TOC or with subpaging. The idea is to break your guide up in to digestable parts.  So if your main page is called "Trauma Center" and you want to describe each operation, you could sub page them as "Trauma Center: Under the Knife/Operation 1", and then "Trauma Center: Under the Knife/Operation 2" and so forth.  It's really that simple.  Whether you are making minor tweaks to the Table of Contents or radical changes, just make sure that you edit and update the TOC so that it properly reflects your changes in order for people to find the new content you're adding.  It is also redundant, but customary to include an abridged table of contents on your introductory page.  As for pictures, if it's a live photograph, the best format is JPG.  If however, it's a screengrab through an emulator or something similar, then the best format is PNG.  Procyon 09:38, 10 October 2006 (CDT)
 * I've fixed Procyon's suggested links to have the actual game name, and to use forward slashes, as opposed to backwards slashes. --DrBob (Talk) 12:18, 10 October 2006 (CDT)
 * Doh! Thank you very much DrBob.  Honestly, sometimes I wonder if I'm dyslexic... Procyon 12:25, 10 October 2006 (CDT)
 * The ToC on the front page is identical to the one on Trauma Center: Under the Knife/Table of Contents. Just edit that one, and the links will automatically appear on the front page.  To create a new page, just pretend the page already exists and add a link to the toc.  Rather than the regular blue links, it will turn out as a red link and when you click it, you can add info to the page.  Hope that helps. -- Prod 09:50, 10 October 2006 (CDT)

Table colors
Is there an easy way to get all the colours done properly on Tactics Arena Online rather than going cell by cell? -- Prod 22:52, 11 October 2006 (CDT)
 * Wikipedia to the rescue! --DrBob (Talk) 00:39, 12 October 2006 (CDT)
 * That only seems to be for cells, rows or the full table. Is it possible to colour a column without going cell by cell? (or a section of the table)? -- Prod 10:12, 12 October 2006 (CDT)
 * I think you'd have to do it for each cell in the column, or perhaps have one table with only one row, and one cell for each column you want, and then each of those cells contains another table with only one column but all the rows you want, and then you can colour each table. (It's a bit of a dirty hack, though.) --DrBob (Talk) 10:58, 12 October 2006 (CDT)
 * You could export the table to a visual HTML editor such as OpenOffice or Google Docs and Spreadsheets (both allow styling of multiple cells at once) and then convert it back using a wikifier. GarrettTalk 14:42, 12 October 2006 (CDT)

Transwiki
Is it possible for me to transwiki anything over here from Wikipedia? -- Prod 21:31, 14 October 2006 (CDT)
 * The licenses are compatible, so it should be fine. You should ask Garrett about how to go about it, as he knows all about doing it properly. --DrBob (Talk) 02:37, 15 October 2006 (CDT)
 * It is not possible for you to do so, as you need access to the restricted "Import pages" page, which requires Sysop status. -- Mason11987 (Talk - Contributions) 11:41, 15 October 2006 (CDT)

Wikibooks VfD heads up
Someone apparently got permission from nintendo magazine to upload their stuff onto wikibooks... it's on VfD now (I nominated it). I think the guy is actually typing the stuff in by hand, so I was hoping you folks might be willing to host his efforts. SB johnny 18:26, 2 November 2006 (CST)


 * Er... could you perhaps provide a link to the content? Thanks, Procyon 19:01, 2 November 2006 (CST)
 * Here's the link. If he actually got permission, that would be cool :D. I've got a few of them lying around somewhere, and some character recognition would probably do wonders..if we're allowed. -- Prod (Talk) 19:36, 2 November 2006 (CST)
 * OK, but I would rather see the content applied as it pertains to each particular game, not as a page-by-page magazine. In other words, rather than having Super Mario Bros. 2 be presented as Issue 1 page 6 through whatever, it should simply be part of the Super Mario Bros. 2 guide.  I guess I'll contact him. Procyon 19:52, 2 November 2006 (CST)
 * Currently the suggestion is to move it to wikisource. If we could use their images or information in general throughout the guides, that would be a huge benefit. -- Prod (Talk) 20:41, 2 November 2006 (CST)
 * Oh, here's a link to the author. -- Prod (Talk) 20:04, 2 November 2006 (CST)
 * Got it. Thanks Prod.  Procyon 20:08, 2 November 2006 (CST)
 * NP. -- Prod (Talk) 20:41, 2 November 2006 (CST)

Redirects
I'm working on a guide for Advance wars, and I need to know how to do a redirect so that I can link the names such as mech to the right name, Advance_Wars:Dual_Strike without turning a word like mech into that long annoying link. --Navy White 15:42, 3 November 2006 (CST)


 * I'm not quite certain I understand what you mean exactly, but if I'm following you right, it sounds like what you mean to type is mech, which would result in the word mech that links to the AW:DS article. Anything that appears after the pipe replaces the name of the link.  Let me know if this is what you were looking for or not.  Procyon 16:00, 3 November 2006 (CST)
 * He's referring to this diff. To set up a redirect, simply use the code #REDIRECT somewhere. However, it's better not to set up redirects at places like mech and infantry.  If more than one guide tries to use the same location (plenty of game's have mech's in them) it becomes a mess.  Just stick with the long names (look through some of the Dominions 3 pages for examples of really long names :P). -- Prod (Talk) 16:24, 3 November 2006 (CST)
 * You can also use relative names. For instance to link to Advance Wars: Dual Strike/COs you can just use ../COs to go up a level in the subpage hierarchy. You can also reach a subpage easily by entering /Page here/, which displays as typed (except without the slashes of course).

~

Questions regarding expansions and patches
Zero Hour is an example of an official expansion pack (to C&C Generals) that can be considered a game on its own (unlike The Sims expansions). It adds four new campaigns, 9 new playable factions, a tremendous amount of new units and weapons and several modifications to the original units, and is launched from a new window. My question is: does Zero Hour get its own article or is it put under the Generals article? Also, if gameplay has been heavily affected by a patch, as is the case with both Generals and Zero Hour, should the information provided be as of the latest patch or the original release?-- JYM 08:22, 15 November 2006 (CST)


 * Hi JYM. This topic has been a matter of discussion lately.  If you truly feel that this expansion pack is so distinct from the parent program that it expands upon, and you truly feel that it deserves its own page, then as the guide's starting author, you can go ahead and start it up as it's own guide.  However, if there is any reason to believe that a majority of the information about the expansion is addressed in the parent guide, what we would ideally like to do is create a section in the parent guide for expansions, while at the same time creating a main page for the expansion title that redirects to the parent guide's expansion page, and also properly categorizes the expansion so that it shows up as a distinct title in the category pages.  Ultimately, you as an authority on the subject can make that call, and from what you described above, it does sound as though this expansion merely uses the C&C engine to present a whole new game, so I would probably go the first route that I suggested and start a brand new guide.  Good luck!  Procyon 09:08, 15 November 2006 (CST)
 * Even non-standalone expansions or versions can be handled separately--see The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest; most of its pages are from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In the case of patches it really depends. If the patch is mandatory (e.g. Halo 2) then there's little reason to cover the old versions, but if the patch was optional and made enough changes that some players stick with the old method separate pages could be used for the affected content (e.g. Diablo II: Lord of Destruction Cube recipes). But as Procyon said it's really down to the editors themselves to judge how connected they are. GarrettTalk 13:41, 15 November 2006 (CST)
 * I would say, use both :P. If it's a big "patch"/expansion then have the info under it's own page (such as StarCraft: Brood War) and have a shortcut at StarCraft/Brood War to the actual expansion.  If it's a small one, have StarCraft: Brood War redirect to StarCraft/Brood War.  This way, if the guide for the expansion grows, you can move it to it's own page with minimal cleanup required. -- Prod (Talk) 21:20, 15 November 2006 (CST)


 * It seems that Zero Hour deserves to be set in its own article. Thanks for your help, guys; I'll get started on ZH when I'm done with the Generals article. As for the patches, I'll cover the current versions of both games, but I'll make a note that the guides are written for the latest version (1.8 and 1.4). Eventually I'll throw in a list of severe balancing changes that were made over time with each game.--JYM 08:20, 17 November 2006 (CST)

Help New Member Needs to Correct Wrongness
I really wanted to expand SimCity 4's article after its shameful showing on Wikibooks. See, I wanted to replace the "Walkthrough" with a "Tutorial" (games like SC4 don't have walkthroughs), and to add information on the NAM, but I screwed up everything! (see bottom). Can you set up a page to have proper Wiki formats and templates and stuff...I'm so confused...Later, though, I can be a big help to you guys. Eventually Yoot Tower will be activated! Meowster 17:48, 14 December 2006 (CST)
 * I'm glad you're willing to keep trying. Adding links is done from the Table of Contents page, and they will automatically show up on all the guide pages (when showing the ToC).  If you need help with wiki-formatting, just try to write up the page the best you can, and one of us "regulars" should be able to help from there.  Happy editing :). -- Prod (Talk) 18:00, 14 December 2006 (CST)

New Request List
I just created a request list at Requests. Could you link this to Main Page? Meowster 13:10, 17 December 2006 (CST)
 * Personally, I'm not sure if this is the kind of idea we should encourage. The point of a wiki site is, if you don't see a game represented, you should feel free to start it yourself, and not rely on others to create a page for you.  Having a request page will deter people from contributing since they might figure that someone will come along and create a page for them when they might have been inclined to start one for themselves.  Procyon 13:15, 17 December 2006 (CST)
 * That or someone might be interested on working on a guide and look to see which is the most requested guide. And the page is already here. -- Prod (Talk) 14:09, 17 December 2006 (CST)

Tables
For the game Age of Mythology, I need to make a table to show things such as stats of units, god modifications, and counters. Could someone show me how to make a table? Ideally, if someone could, I'd like it to be like this-

_____________________________________________ You will need to go into editing to see it. Sorry. --Navy White 13:10, 25 December 2006 (CST)
 * Picture|__Name_______|Counters             |
 * |__Cost_______|                     |
 * | Stats      |                      |
 * _______|            |                      |
 * _____________________|______________________|
 * Modifiers           |Author's notes        |
 * _____________________|______________________|
 * _____________________|______________________|
 * _____________________|______________________|

How's this? -- Prod (Talk) 17:27, 25 December 2006 (CST)