StrategyWiki:Featured guides/Unsuccessful requests

1. --DukeRuckley 16:48, 16 August 2007 (CDT): Very thorough and complete guide with a lot of pictures. I've gone through and spell-checked it.
2. Looks good, but still needs a few things before being promoted (see comments) -- Safety Skizzerz ^{{{ Talk | Contribs | Spel Chek™ | VFG | RTFM }}} 17:17, 16 August 2007 (CDT)

1. OK, here me out on this one guys. I don't feel that SMB is a good candidate for a featured guide. I would personally prefer to see a more comprehensive game such as Super Mario Bros. Deluxe or Super Mario All-Stars be brought to the level of "Featured Guide", so that not only do we get a fantastic guide, we also supply information for anywhere from two to five other titles in the process. If I were to work on SMB DX, then SMB1 and SMB2j could have a front page that simply points to the content in SMB DX. If I were to work on SMAS, then the same would be true for SMB1, SMB2j, SMB2u, SMB3 and SMB DX. (Although the location of the SMB DX red coins would have to be added to the SMAS maps.) Anyway, if you want to go ahead with just SMB1, that's cool, but I think there is a bigger opportunity here for us. Procyon (Talk) 18:23, 16 August 2007 (CDT)
2. I've moved to oppose for the reasons that Procyon stated, as well as that it still needs work (plus I want to see how the red looks in the status bar). -- Safety Skizzerz ^{{{ Talk | Contribs | Spel Chek™ | VFG | RTFM }}} 18:50, 16 August 2007 (CDT)

This guide needs a few maintenance things before being promoted (at least we have a month or two!). One, all the AGN's have to become HN's> Two, the backs in the FN need to become prevs. Three, it needs a Spel Chek™. Other than that, it looks great ^_^ (besides MAYBE an image in the ToC). -- Safety Skizzerz ^{{{ Talk | Contribs | Spel Chek™ | VFG | RTFM }}} 17:17, 16 August 2007 (CDT)

I hadn't noticed the AGN's and backpages... That'll be taken care of shortly though... I did a spell check before I nominated it, but another spell/grammar check is probably a good idea anyway.--DukeRuckley 17:26, 16 August 2007 (CDT)

Regarding Proc's comments above: When it comes to compilations, I feel that for a compilation to be featured, each of the guides it contains should be featured. In other words, if All-Stars (which is a compilation) is featured, then the games it links to should be as well. Unless you are talking about a completely full guide on the All-Star. (I'm not familiar with DX, so I don't know what to say about that). Maybe we should bring this up in CI?--DukeRuckley 18:32, 16 August 2007 (CDT)

I wonder if the special tricks should be mentioned here (sorry, I'm new), although most of them can't be performed normally. To me some seem more or less important, like hitting flying koopas from below and walking through walls (I performed this myself, too, but it takes patience). Also, I updated the world record time (or where did you get that?). --Proto 12:28, 18 October 2007 (CDT)

I was told it exists already (sorry again): Super Mario Bros./Secrets --Proto 12:46, 18 October 2007 (CDT)

1. Procyon (Talk) 22:49, 13 January 2008 (CST)
2. It looks quite solid, Scott. Even with Ryan's objections, I have to say I back this. (I didn't notice the hardcoded html color codes and stuff--I'm sure you can fix it though if need be.) echelon_talk 23:48, 21 January 2008 (CST)
3. Very complete guide, I noticed a couple of grammar mistakes, but not enough to remove my vote of support. --MaestroFergus 09:22, 29 February 2008 (CST)
4. I've fixed the two issues that I had with the guide, so I'm now ready to support. - Koweja 21:08, 6 March 2008 (CST)
5. --Bmuig 09:47, 10 April 2008 (CDT) (talk)
6. Didn't realize the game was that short! --DukeRuckley^{Talk | Contribs} 19:06, 25 April 2008 (CDT)

1. Safety Skizzerz ^{{{ Talk | Contribs | Spel Chek™ | VFG | RTFM }}} 15:39, 14 January 2008 (CST)
2. DrBob (talk) 19:28, 25 April 2008 (CDT)
3. Procyon (Talk) 20:57, 25 April 2008 (CDT)

This is another guide that I have put a lot of effort in to, in order to provide plenty of pictures per page, while keeping the spoilers to a minimum. The guide covers every point along the game and provides a step by step presentation of how to progress through the game. Procyon (Talk) 22:49, 13 January 2008 (CST)

Sorry Proc, but I'm neutral/undecided on this one until some of the styling issues in the guide get sorted out (e.g. no hardcoded color values for tables, and the spolier template needs some work with the images). Maybe after that happens I'll support, but even then perhaps not. -- Safety Skizzerz ^{{{ Talk | Contribs | Spel Chek™ | VFG | RTFM }}} 15:39, 14 January 2008 (CST)

I haven't looked over the whole guide yet, but so far I'm impressed. Two things that I've noticed so far - a) you have a red link on the cover page, and you could probably convert the enemy and spell tables into a template. - Koweja 12:01, 2 March 2008 (CST)

• Problems solved, so supporting now. - Koweja 21:08, 6 March 2008 (CST)

I will proof this guide over the next few days and get back to you all on this one.--DukeRuckley^{Talk | Contribs} 19:48, 22 January 2008 (CST)

Yeah, I'll promote this one to featured status once I have enough free time to make the quip for the front page. --Skizzerz (talk · contribs) 20:09, 19 April 2008 (CDT)

Sorry for my lateness. I've just proofread the entire guide and corrected a few small things. I'd be happy to support this as a featured guide, but not with the enemies page in the state it is. The whole right-hand side of the page is wasted whitespace, and I think the page would really benefit from complete tabulation. If you've got no problems with it Proc, I could do that and then promote the guide to l5? --DrBob (talk) 19:28, 25 April 2008 (CDT)

Thank you for all the hard work you did in cleaning up my mess DrBob. As always, your eye for mistakes is impeccable. I took a stab at fixing the enemies page. It may or may not have been what you have in mind. While I think it looks better now, it has some major issues if you scrunch your browser too thin. Please feel free to correct it, or implement an entirely different layout if you like. Procyon (Talk) 20:57, 25 April 2008 (CDT)

Something went wrong with this guide, and I'm not sure what it is. I appreciate all of the support that everyone has given it so far, but given Skizzerz's and DrBob's hesitance, whose opinions I deeply respect, I need to reexamine the choices I made for this guide and really understand what worked and what didn't. It's difficult to write a guide for a not-so-linear RPG since a player is more free to make certain choices about the order in which to do things on his or her own. Still, I thought Dragon Warrior would be an easy RPG to start with. Anyway, thanks for the continued effort to help improve this guide. Procyon (Talk) 20:57, 25 April 2008 (CDT)

1. This guide looks complete and seems to have all the needed things to be featured. RobJ1981 23:57, 26 May 2008 (CDT)

1. It does not have screenshots in the walkthrough. While screenshots won't contribute much since it's a such a straightforward game ("shoot everything that isn't you") it's simply not acceptable for a featured guide. Once some suitable screenshots are included I would support its promotion. Garrett^Talk 18:17, 28 May 2008 (CDT)
2. Per Garrett. Also, this is very nit-picky, but it has redlinks on the guide's main page. --Skizzerz (talk · contribs) 19:20, 28 May 2008 (CDT)

1. Dukeruckley (talk · contribs)

• There needs to be some pictures on the walkthrough page if at all possible. I figure it can be tough to find images for an arcade game. There's a bit of whitspace (at least on 1280x800 resolution) next to both tables on that page. Also, I wonder if it's possible to add a bit more information on the "home versions" page to clean up some of the white space there too? Otherwise the guide is very well written. I'll stick myself on undecided until I hear some other comments (mine are a bit nitpicky).--DukeRuckley^{Talk | Contribs} 07:53, 27 May 2008 (CDT)
  • This game is supported by MAME, so taking screenshots is not a problem. Garrett^Talk 18:17, 28 May 2008 (CDT)

1. This is very comprehensive and doesn't seem to have errors in it. The Main page and the ToC is well-written and updated. Totlmstr 18:03, 5 May 2008 (CDT)
2. I put everything into this guide, I definitely want to see it promoted.Lunar Knight ^{(Talk to me + Contribs)} 17:10, 7 May 2008 (CDT)

1. There are no images in the walkthrough whatsoever, which is a requirement for a featured guide. Also, looking through the walkthrough I could understand it, but it needs to go more in-depth in all the areas, and optional expansions should go into a {{sidebar}} entry to denote that it is optional and also make it stand out a bit more. A few other things I noticed is that it makes no use of the control images in the walkthrough (the control selector template can allow them to toggle to their preferred method of playing) and that there is no special marking of rare scans that you cannot come back later and get. I could probably find a few more things, but that covers it pretty well for the moment. --Skizzerz (talk · contribs) 18:15, 5 May 2008 (CDT)
2. In addition to all of Skizzerz comments, which I agree with, there are a number of pages that need to be merged into one page. Specifically, most of the pages at the bottom of the TOC should be merged into one page named according to the header of that column. Procyon (Talk) 18:40, 5 May 2008 (CDT)
3. I'm very impressed with the guide! However, I have to agree with the above two, especially about the images. --DukeRuckley^{Talk | Contribs} 21:31, 5 May 2008 (CDT)
4. Yeah it's an awesome guide, and it's also been blogged about! It just needs some merging (seems to be the current focus), and what I've seen, minor revisions (proof reading from as many people as possible plus things like footer navs). —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) .

• So, instead of having X list here and there, there should be one good list, such as the Weapons? So, it's still young for it to be a featured guide. After reading, you can delete. Totlmstr 21:56, 5 May 2008 (CDT)
  • Yes, keep one good list all in one location. You can link to it from elsewhere, but having one list is not only easier to update, but it requires less load time and searching for the reader. --Skizzerz (talk · contribs) 18:42, 6 May 2008 (CDT)
    • About the images...what am I supposed to do for this and other DS guides? Theres no realistic way to get screens for the walkthrough. Wouldn't that mean that no DS game can realistically become a featured guide?:-P Lunar Knight ^{(Talk to me + Contribs)} 17:10, 7 May 2008 (CDT)
      • Google is your friend (and so are emulators). --Skizzerz (talk · contribs) 17:17, 7 May 2008 (CDT)
        • Okay, I'm beginning work on compiling some of those pages into one. I'll see about going through the walkthrough later on today. Lunar Knight ^{(Talk to me + Contribs)} 12:48, 5 July 2008 (CDT)
          • Use a camera XD --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 04:38, 8 July 2008 (CDT)

1. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 03:22, 26 May 2009 (UTC)
2. --Naturally :) Thanks NMH. Procyon 03:29, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

1. Sigma 7 19:51, 26 May 2009 (UTC)
2. najzere^T 19:54, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

1. --Melon247 (talk · contribs · comp) 08:37, 26 May 2009 (UTC)
2. --DukeRuckley^{Talk | Contribs} 17:59, 26 May 2009 (UTC)
3. --|Superpowered Mario(Talk | Contribs) 19:59, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

• The guide is complete, and I've personally used it to complete the first run of the game. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 03:22, 26 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Had a quick look through the guide, and I noticed one thing in particular. On the featured guide page (the one which tells you about what featured guides need or whatever) it says that each page must have 2+ images. All of the "section" areas that I've looked through only have one map at the top. I'm not entirely sure how to resolve this, but I guess some image galleries at the bottom of the pages to show some of the quests might work. --Melon247 (talk · contribs · comp) 08:37, 26 May 2009 (UTC)
    • Hmm... that's actually a good point :/ I suppose screenshots of boss fights would suffice for the dungeons. Not sure about the overworld sections though... Procyon 15:11, 26 May 2009 (UTC)
      • Before I leave for my vacation, I thought I'd jump in here... Procyon, I think you're right that the dungeon pages could use a screenshot of the boss battle or maybe a sprite of the boss. Another possibility is to have a screenshot of Link grabbing the triforce or special item (boomerang, etc). This could go for the overworld as well. An image showing Link opening a special cave or stairwell could be helpful to show exactly where something is. It's a very interesting layout! The only other thing is I'm not too keen on the bullet point dungeon walkthroughs; I tend to prefer prose. In this case, though, it seems to work, especially because of the simplicity of the game. I'll put myself under undecided because of this and the images. I give permission to anyone to move me to support once the images are uploaded, since I won't be here to do it myself.--DukeRuckley^{Talk | Contribs} 17:59, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

• The guide looks complete, but I haven't verified the contents since the second quest is a bit more difficult. --Sigma 7 15:40, 26 May 2009 (UTC)
  • I did a deeper check, and found some specific problems with the guide as it stands. These are now included on the todo list at Talk:The Legend of Zelda. --Sigma 7 19:51, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

• Some parts of the guide, such as missing footer navs and no control images make me automatically oppose this nomination. Also, much of the way the guide is laid out is questionable, as featured guides also serve as an example for how to make guides in the future. As mentioned before, using table cells as headers for on-image rows and columns is not a good idea. The current style for room-by-room walkthroughs is to have separate sections for each room with a screenshot, as in Eggerland or Hinotori Houou Hen. Additionally, I don't think the use of lists for walkthroughs should be encouraged. There is also an inconsistency in the format of certain pages like items and enemies, where one is in a table, and one is in a list. All the information seems to be there, so if the layout is updated I'd be more likely to support. - najzere^T 19:54, 11 June 2009 (UTC)
  • I think a lot of Najzere's points are well taken. However, I don't think the room-by-room screenshot approach would work very well in this case. Most of the rooms are wide open combat arenas that can be cleared in a matter of seconds, so there's no reason to hold the reader's hand too tightly. The list approach should probably be replaced in favor of a more paragraph friendly format, just as was done with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In fact, that is probably the best model of all for this guide. But I'm plowing ahead with newer guides, so I'd prefer to leave the revamping up to others. Procyon 20:18, 11 June 2009 (UTC)
    • The guide is properly set up, but it is a little shaky to follow. Text alone isn't much of a guide unless it is backed up with a good image. If you look at the guide, it's only got images up to a point. The rest is text, and you can't exactly tell where or what the guide refers to without a screenshot. If the guide looked more like LTTP, that would make it perfect. --|Superpowered Mario(Talk | Contribs) 19:59, 12 June 2009 (UTC)
      • I have to strongly disagree; LTTP looks like a jumbled mess with all those images. Of course pictures are great for helping readers understand a guide, but only in moderation. It can be overdone, especially as it has been noted above that even one screenshot per room on this guide would be too much. I think we're all aware that you like to see lots and lots of images on guide pages, to the point where you've been asked to stop, but a featured guide shouldn't have images just for images' sake – they should be used to show complicated or obscure things from the game that would be otherwise hard to explain with just written text. - najzere^T 20:28, 12 June 2009 (UTC)
        • You have a very good point there. They should mark the important things needed to progress. I'm staying neutral for now (and I'll cut back on the useless images). --|Superpowered Mario(Talk | Contribs) 18:37, 15 June 2009 (UTC)
• Wow, Naj, you think LTTP is too cluttered? I didn't know you felt that way. You might be the first person I've heard express that opinion, not that I have any problem with that. I tried to be as selective as I possibly could with the pictures that were uploaded to that guide. What changes to LTTP would you propose? Procyon 20:01, 15 June 2009 (UTC)
  • None, to be honest. I'm fine with legacy guides being featured or guides that have consensus I don't agree with. On the LTTP guide there are images floated to the side by themselves, thumbnails with no size set and thumbnails with all sorts of different sizes. There are also many images overlapping headings and running into lower images, pushing them over. A lot of the images are exactly the type of thing a guide needs, such as maps and spots showing secret locations. Others are unnecessary like ones captioned with "Link faces an angry guard." and such. The guide was approved during its nomination, so I have absolutely no issue with it being featured. I would just like to lend my opinion on images to future nominations. - najzere^T 22:15, 15 June 2009 (UTC)

1. It looked very much like Donkey Kong (which was a featured guide) --Chalkwriter 12:47, 29 May 2009 (UTC)
2. --Melon247 (talk · contribs · comp) 13:17, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

1. Procyon 19:29, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

1. Sigma 7 16:46, 29 May 2009 (UTC)
2. najzere^T 19:54, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

• I must say, the guide looks OK as far as layout goes. I haven't read through much of the text or anything though. I also spotted that IE Wikipedia template problem on the front page but so far that's the only problem I spotted. --Melon247 (talk · contribs · comp) 13:17, 29 May 2009 (UTC)
• I'm not sure on this one... A few things seem to be missing, for example, scoring inforormation or details on some of the versions. Speaking of which, I'm not sure that the Donkey Kong guide qualified as featured either, but it's already tagged as such; it was also missing information about scoring, as well as details on when levels appear and the kill stage (two of which have just been added.) --Sigma 7 16:46, 29 May 2009 (UTC)
• Surprisingly, I'm opposing this for two reasons. 1) We already have a classic arcade gaming era game on the featured list (namely Donkey Kong), so having a second Donkey Kong arcade game on the featured list might be redundant, and 2) If we were going to add another classic arcade game to the list, I would rather see Pac-Man get the nod, as it features much more technical information about the game, including a break-down of the ghost AI. Procyon 19:29, 29 May 2009 (UTC)
• The guide looks pretty good, and I'd support if the walkthrough went away from a list format and there was more depth to the version differences on some of the systems. Just from looking at the screenshots, some of the games don't look quite the same, so I'd like to know if there are any gameplay differences. If the walkthrough can't be used for all the alternate versions, that should be noted. If there are no differences, just let me know, because it's basically my only concern. - najzere^T 19:55, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

1. Guide is pretty much finished with plenty of images and... um... stuff. --Melon247 (talk · contribs · comp) 17:11, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

1. najzere^T 19:54, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

1. The focus on one version over the other seems skewed. --Zaiqukaj 11:22, 5 June 2009 (UTC)
2. I haven't proofread it all yet. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 07:54, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

• The guide does look like it covers everything it can but 2 things seem missing. It would be nice to have a page listing/displaying the different breeds. Do different breeds have different stats or personalities (I could not tell if personality was random or based on breed)? Some basic advice for each personality/breed may be helpful and the only thing I can find missing for the walkthrough aspect. If the Catz version is similar enough to be the same guide then it needs some attention. Are we 100% sure both versions have the same tricks and items? The earlier Catz and Dogz games (puffy ball versions) were basically the same games with swapped out graphics (dog gets a bone and cat gets a fish). If we can clarify what the differences are then I would probably convert towards support. --Zaiqukaj 11:22, 5 June 2009 (UTC)
  • I can probably find out what the breeds in Catz are but I cannot find the game, so I won't be able to find out differences with personalities or anything. Infact, all personalities really mean in the game anyway is if some are easier to train or don't get dirty so fast. --Melon247 (talk · contribs · comp) 13:12, 5 June 2009 (UTC)
    • Well if we define the little note you told me somewhere then that sould be enough. I'll see if I can find any copies of Catz at my local stores. The petz games tend to be on sale. --Zaiqukaj 13:46, 5 June 2009 (UTC)
      • I've added the breeds (not entirely sure about the Burmese) and it says briefly about personality on the game page, though I'm not sure this is enough. I'd take a gander that Maine Coons get dirty quickly if that's any use. --Melon247 (talk · contribs · comp) 16:38, 5 June 2009 (UTC)
• The biggest issues I have with this guide are the overuse of images and the informal writing style. Not every single action taken in the game needs an image, and having them artificially lengthens the pages, creating large amounts of whitespace throughout the guide. By informal writing, I mean slang and overuse of exclamation marks. These two things give the guide a "sloppy" appearance that I wouldn't approve of showing up on the main page. Other things are the use of many non-standard colors in table headers, gratuitous bolding of some words (and not even consistently throughout the guide), headings and pages not in sentence case and plenty of spelling/grammar issues. I don't have a problem with the images being only of dogs, since it appears both games are the same. (Of course mixing in some cats would be great.) - najzere^T 19:55, 11 June 2009 (UTC)
  • What exactly do you mean by "slang"? --Melon247 (talk · contribs · comp) 07:18, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
    • I've read through four of the pages and I see nothing wrong with the writing style. Everything looks fine to me, although the sparseness of the text is a little daunting at first when I'm trying to judge this as a featured guide. However, given the nature of the game and how I've never played it, perhaps it is as simplistic as the guide makes it out to be. I can see that the images illustrate key points (great for those of us who don't own the game), and additional ones use the gallery to minimize spacing issues. I use a 1440x900 resolution and although there is a lot of white space, I don't think that's an issue because the layout is completed. Great job Melon. Hopefully I can be of some help. --Notmyhandle (talk • contribs) 07:54, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
    • By slang I meant informal, drivel-ish wording, however I got this impression from the top of the first page I looked at ("give your pet that modern look!"), and having read through the entire walkthrough now, I see there are only a couple isolated places where that happens. I can live with that, as bits of flair make the guide more interesting, but the 5+ exclamation marks per page is excessive in my opinion. - najzere^T 18:59, 16 June 2009 (UTC)