User talk:Arrow

The archived version is on Archive 1 and Archive 2. --Arrow Windwhistler (talk) 04:42, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

Welcome back

It's been a while, nice to see you around again :) -- Prod (talk) 04:59, 16 October 2012 (UTC)

Oh wow, long time no edit! I hope you have time to pull off another featured guide this year. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 20:34, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, I run into that issue, too. I play a lot of flash games, so I don't work on those, and a lot of times I have a game that I play and don't want to worry about spending time on writing about it, because I want to get through it first! I recommend playing some old classics if you haven't in a while. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 20:51, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

So much for the last guide

Got stuck and could never finish it. Fortunately I have another game in my sights now; hoping to outdo one fan wiki and one official wikia. --Arrow Windwhistler (talk) 04:02, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

Template issue

Sorry I wasn't available when you wanted to do this. First of all, you probably don't want to use a template for such a complex table. I assume each class has their own Categories, Certificate names, and other values. A template is only effective if most of these are the same. For example, medics have Medical Applicator exclusively, and Heavy Assault has Munitions Pouch. Since they don't both have them, you'd have to come up with a way to exclude them (you could make exclusive parameters where you have like class=medic and everything specific to the medic appears). The point is, there are only like 8 tables that need to be made and they're all on the same page, so it would be easier to just fill one out, and copy it to the others and modify. If you need help setting up the Medic table, to get one started, let me know. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 19:24, 11 February 2013 (UTC)

I forgot to say the most important part, which you pointed to in your response. I find that starting with just a table and expanding it to the other areas will help you identify whether or not a template would work. For example, after you copy a table, how much does it have to be modified? Do rows need to be added? Do rows need to be split? The hardest part with a template is filling in all of these little nuances with parameters and switches. Like I said, if you're only using this about 8 times, and it's all on the same page, it definitely makes more sense to copy/paste. A lot of the names in the second row are the same (but a few differ which throws a curveball in template creation), the first column and row titles are the same, so that will be helpful, but the rest seems entirely class specific (all of the values on the right side). You'd have to have like 6 parameters for each row. Like, 20-50 parameters for one small template (that's nuts!). --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 04:11, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

Why'd you remove the link? The certifications table is what I've been referring to. I think it is just too complex and huge to jump into. More simplistic templates can of course be created and utilized easily. However, I also forgot that you can create your own way to display the data, instead of copying that site's layout. What I mean is, if you take them all apart, what do they have in common? You can make a separate table of the "common certs" (easily made into a template) and then exclusive certs for each class (probably not template-able). --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 04:27, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

One way to differentiate common versus exclusive in a combined table is to shade the background of, say, the common cells. Light blue works well. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 04:51, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

Let's clarify. I think you are thinking I was suggesting one giant table for ALL classes. I'm suggesting that we keep class-specific tables, like you built for infiltrator, but color some of the areas if they are common. We can always do that after the data is all filled in. I know trying to figure out a template can make filling in the data less tedious, but in this case I think the tables are too complex.

Also, to simplify the tables, don't make separate rows in the levels section just for a description. Just use <br /> and you can keep it in the same box as the image and level number. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 05:10, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

Yeah I think it looks fine. The number/value may look better with the cert symbol to the right of it. Is the cert image representative of a currency? Like money or XP? I am unfamiliar with how this system works. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 06:51, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you mean by that. It looks like you resolved width problems, if there were any. I made the currency images smaller to match the font size. I removed the line breaks between the currency images and the values, so that their format is like "$100". I changed the Default lines to something that makes more sense, and added a 0 credit value, since $Default doesn't make sense, but $0 does. Feel free to put the word default back in if it appears in game. Also, the blue coloring needs to be explained at the top somewhere in a key/legend, before it is used. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 17:34, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

Mmk. I'll let you continue to experiment with layouts and such. Also, use File instead of Image. In the long run it can save a few hundred characters per page, especially with all of those little icons. I can do a quick regex to replace them at some point if I notice you haven't. If you use Google Chrome, I recommend installing the "Search and Replace" extension. It's handy. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 17:41, 12 February 2013 (UTC)