shmups.co.uk > now "The official ShmupsWiki.com project" :)

[devilmanozzy]

Nice, my first major roadblock....

Seems as tho, something important is missing or something, as Infobox templates throwing out they infomation.....Look and see.....
http://shmups.co.uk/index.php5?title=Darius%2B

I have uploaded all templates listed at :
http://www.etcwiki.org/wiki/Mediawiki_template_guide

We need the Parser Functions extension installed. They have a link to the information on it on that same page above. This requires Malc I think. I can't do it, unless there are more tools I'm unaware of. DJ Incompetent may be able to too. But this is something more than editing on the wiki itself.

I can't really look at Infoboxes till then. I'll continue to build the basic start up articles though.

[devilmanozzy]

I haven't quite got time to read this thread in depth tonight, but I will, and I'd like to help out if I could find the time.

My initial reaction on a cursory read through is that it might seem odd to have reviews in the encyclopedic world of Wikis. Reviews are so subjective, which is a bit contrary to the point of wikis. Wouldn't it be best to preserve facts and info and data rather than opinion? So how about overviews instead of reviews?

Reviews = opinion = a recipe for clashes and disagreement. Better to stick with facts and explanation (which will cause enough fracas with us lot!).

Of course, when I do read all this in more depth, hopefully I'll be made to feel stupid about this point because I've missed something!

Wiki's don't have to be for just straight encyclopedic stuff. Many Wikis are more for exploring and sharing reflections, much as web sites and blogs sometimes do. Wikis are a way to build large databases, that are made by multiple users. Note, as you have said, I have had my doubts when this project first showed up here. I think my words on the other thread doubting this project still ring true to some.

All I can say offhand, is there is a strong interest for this wiki as this project was suggested over a year ago. People want this to happen, as its a easier platform to share reviews. I have decided to help get the people they platform built, and so they can decide if its worth it for them at the end of the day. I can defend all day the logic of this wiki being made, if people add to it when its built. Time, money, and one computer (Sorry DJ Incompetent) have been invested in this project. I aim to get it off the ground and running.

[Aguraki]

are you using shmup.co.uk as a try?(thought it was shmupwiki that was chosen)

[devilmanozzy]

Both work, but the actual address has always been shmups.co.uk.

[devilmanozzy]

Well now we can see infoboxes, and there is a battle plan for spammers for the wiki. So all that is left is to get images active too. We're getting closer...

[DJ Incompetent]

outstanding work!

[nimitz]

Great stuff, now with the infoboxes working and spammers soon to be out we can start to lay the groundwork already.


Do you want to have the discussions concerning global plans here or on the wiki?

I'm insanely busy, but I might try to help some more.


Also, I think it would be good to focus on a few high quality featured articles than try to cover the whole thing and spread it too thin. If anyone is interested in converting relatively complete strategy guide from to forum to the wiki, that would be a great start (don't forget to contact the authors).

[devilmanozzy]

Great stuff, now with the infoboxes working and spammers soon to be out we can start to lay the groundwork already.


Do you want to have the discussions concerning global plans here or on the wiki?

I'm insanely busy, but I might try to help some more.


Also, I think it would be good to focus on a few high quality featured articles than try to cover the whole thing and spread it too thin. If anyone is interested in converting relatively complete strategy guide from to forum to the wiki, that would be a great start (don't forget to contact the authors).

Shmups Wiki I assume is ok to talk about either here or there.

I've been out for a week doing other things, mostly looking for work in RL. Been hoping people would sign up and start talking about what they want. Earlier in this thread you brought up that there is no need to copy wikipedia pages, which depending on what you mean by that, I either agree or somewhat disagree. I get the feeling between these two threads on this subject, that the focus is more on offering feedback on games so other fans can decide if the game is worth it, to trouble shoot a difficult spot in the game, and sometimes to stop myths about games(Darius + is not the same as Darius Plus).

The issue still is getting images to show up and not give error messages every time a person uploads. Funny thing is, the images do upload, but only the thumbnails show up, and only as written in wiki text( "File:image.png"). Note I still am looking into this, and its something that can be seen for now as only a miner thing and is most likely easy to fix once I figure it out.

Another thing Nimitz, I saw in the contest thread you made some pretty nice logos, and among other things you ok'ed the use of one for the wiki. Is there any chance you have on still based on Gradius Font? I think everyone can agree thats a nice font, and to below the term "Shmups", in the font but smaller have the term "Wiki" and then make the finished file a psd or png which has a but of transparency around (no soild color background)?

[devilmanozzy]

Ok let me say more, to all the users that have signed up, be aware I really want you to login and try editing things, make user pages "Example"(they serve as profiles) and try out the Discussion
pages "Example".... be my testers! Tell me on my talk page if things are not working, or if you got ideas to improve something.

BTW, copying and changing content on my Examples is perfectly fine, and I encourage it. I am aware that the wiki language is new to some here. But when you get down to it, it is like html, bbcode, or css. Infact it is easier than all those. Just try things out, and remember you can undo a bad edit in the history of a page. Click the history tab and your see the option to do that.

[devilmanozzy]

Yesterday I updated the look of the skin to reflect Shmups.com. Anyone like it?

[Aguraki]

Yesterday I updated the look of the skin to reflect Shmups.com. Anyone like it?

Wouldn't it be better to have a more general look?
I understand the intention but the wikia should end more "mainstream looking"(accessible) than here.
Let's make it look clear and readable(dark BG are tiring).
The simplest the best(doesn't mean not sharp).

Does the wikia really have to be an "annex" of shmups.org?(this is obv the decision of the wikia owner)

Anyway keep going,this is going to be a titan's work

[devilmanozzy]

Yesterday I updated the look of the skin to reflect Shmups.com. Anyone like it?

Wouldn't it be better to have a more general look?
I understand the intention but the wikia should end more "mainstream looking"(accessible) than here.
Let's make it look clear and readable(dark BG are tiring).
The simplest the best(doesn't mean not sharp).

Does the wikia really have to be an "annex" of shmups.org?(this is obv the decision of the wikia owner)

Anyway keep going,this is going to be a titan's work

Woot? What are you talking about? Ok here is the link http://shmupswiki.com . That is the wiki i'm talking about. Wikia has nothing to do with this project. Back a few posts ago, I said that they are nothing to do with each other.

[Aguraki]

Woot? What are you talking about? Ok here is the link http://shmupswiki.com . That is the wiki i'm talking about. Wikia has nothing to do with this project. Back a few posts ago, I said that they are nothing to do with each other.

sorry meant this wiki obv.
what I mean is why do you want to keep the shmup.org graphic chart?
Is this cause it has to be a "joint" of shmup.org?
If yes then I understand.
Otherwise I think a "lighter" chart would do a better job.
Actually when reading the forum I have black background only(no stars).

ps:this is also very subjective.

[devilmanozzy]

Woot? What are you talking about? Ok here is the link http://shmupswiki.com . That is the wiki i'm talking about. Wikia has nothing to do with this project. Back a few posts ago, I said that they are nothing to do with each other.

sorry meant this wiki obv.
what I mean is why do you want to keep the shmup.org graphic chart?
Is this cause it has to be a "joint" of shmup.org?
If yes then I understand.
Otherwise I think a "lighter" chart would do a better job.
Actually when reading the forum I have black background only(no stars).

ps:this is also very subjective.

The Wiki is owned by the same fellow that owns both http://shmups.com/ and here the forum. But he has been very open minded about this project. I have came in to rescue it, as I like to help out new wikis. The look was intended to look like the Shmups.com. Anyways, one vote against it.

[DJ Incompetent]

Yesterday I updated the look of the skin to reflect Shmups.com. Anyone like it?

Looks good! nice work. Keep it.

[evil_ash_xero]

Yeah, it looks good.

I'm pretty psyched to see this come to fruition.

[devilmanozzy]

Ok I am working on a test of a possible template for the reviews.

Here is what I have made so far:
http://shmups.co.uk/index.php5?title=Le ... _Vormbrock

Here is the review I based it on:
http://shmups.com/reviews/lethalxcess/index.html

Note I was given permission to use reviews from the site, as they will also to be included in the wiki.

Also, as I said earlier, the one change from the site is that there will be a page for the actual game and then a page per review. Note, how I have handled the name conventions thus far.

[devilmanozzy]

Well after spending a few months getting my personal life in order, I return to spam as three spambots actually signed up to get on the wiki. Anyways, the spam has been removed and the spambots blocked, and I have one new development with the Wiki project.

As of a hour ago, now images uploaded will now work be able to be seen. Well that was all the issues with getting the wiki started. Focus will soon shift to making tools and tutorials on wikis. I can at this point say, editing on the wiki without help is now do-able.

Rules on the wiki about image uploads, articles subject matters, and morals and ethics I really don't want to set up. This is a community project and I want a discussion on it first. Like noted on this thread and elsewhere "This is not Devilmanozzy's project" so I don't want to be pinned to the project and especially have authority over others. Look at my post count, I have no clout here, which I never wanted. I saw a project that needed a helping hand, and I had background on wiki editing. I know I'm a noob to those in the forum.

Anyways, its time for people in the forum that wanted this project to happen to start trying it out and asking questions and build it. I will be getting old reviews off of Shmups:Xenocide Files and posting them on the wiki, but new ones need to start happening.

[Aguraki]

keep up the good work.

[DJ Incompetent]

yep. You're still awesome!

I'm still pretty computerless at home. That may change in January, but we'll see how much Christmas messes my shit up.

[Yoshino]

Bravo Malc! I do remember proposing this when wikis were all the rage, and think it still could be a more efficient mechanism to pull out strategy guides threads, reviews, and so-on into an indexed archive that is more easily navigable for newbies and lurkers.

Amen! This is definitely needed. When I started getting back into STGs - I have had to lurk, read, watch an amazing amount of material to get myself halfway up to speed, and I'm still way behind on a lot of older or more obscure things.

It was only a matter of time before I got back into them, seeing as I grew up playing them in the 80's. I've been thinking it must seem just incredibly esoteric and cryptic for the younger people who may by chance watch a replay and then become interested...Basically, I think this will benefit the entire genre. A wiki will benefit newfound "hardcore" gamers who might suddenly find themselves in a position like I did.

Thanks Malc for igniting this project, I was actually thinking about proposing this earlier this month, believe it or not. Then came across the Wikia shmup site, figured that some of you may have contributed, and just kind of forgot about it until now. This effort could bear a far more comprehensive wiki (regarding shooters) than the wikia one. I feel one thing that definitely needs to be concentrated on IMO (besides games, tactics/strategies) is all the jargon; especially that surrounding game mechanics/scoring. Also, certain technical aspects should definitely be covered. (for instance, there is still a lot of information I would like to know about TATE modes (vertical) and also just monitors in general. If someone would like to post or point me to a page with info on that kind of thing I'd appreciate it. )

[devilmanozzy]

Well last night someone began editing by adding a table. Wouldn't you know it has serious color issues. So in short the colors are still off in places on it. I also noticed the same "White" problem in preferences. Also the issue is on the recent changes page. So in so many words I'll have to tweak the colors in the settings. After awhile I'll set up a good second skin(thats what controls the look) and more than likely I set it up in a White with black text look. I know things are not perfect. But the reason I want people starting to edit there is to find these problems. Last night thanks to one user I found new problems to deal with.

New ideas introduced last night included useing a wikitable sortable(Known as Wiki-pipe) table, which is much easier to edit than the tables I introduced which were XHTML tables. In short I found after a bit of research, those Wikiable tables are much easier to use. The downside is there is less control on the look of the wiki table in the way of colors. I'm still trying to figure out what color setting is changing the top Row of information white.

Much to do, and I need people doing as last night and pushing this wiki forward. You really can't do anything wrong at this point, as it needs rules in place and things like that. DJ Incompetent may be back in January to take the controls, and I hope people by then will be able to work with the wiki and feel comfortable there. If all else fails, all you need to do is copy, paste, and edit it. Much like doing web sites or coding. If you do that and it becomes broke, either contact my talk page there, or the Discussion page for that article/page (tab at top of page), or if your really lost just come to this thread here in the forum and reply saying whats going wrong.

[cyprien]

I added the list for all the 360 games just now. Is there anything that is a priority that I should be working on instead?

Editing wiki pages is very relaxing after doing real code work all day.

[devilmanozzy]

I added the list for all the 360 games just now. Is there anything that is a priority that I should be working on instead?

Editing wiki pages is very relaxing after doing real code work all day.

Any of the pages are fine. I am going to focus on getting more articles started and transferring Xenocide Files over.

[devilmanozzy]

Slight update,
I discovered how to change the color of the top bar for wikitables, and they are now also collapsible. Not strongly focused on this project tho. No real activity at the wiki since I was there last. Figured by now more people would be editing there.

As for the reason one would care that tables are collapsible.... look at my recently Spoiler on my page...http://shmups.co.uk/index.php5?title=User:Devilmanozzy

[xybur]

The mediawiki needs to be updated to the latest version. I have a friend who is good at mediawiki, and he'd be willing to sysop the operations and make the thing work. Also a recaptcha would help with some of the spammers that are starting to make bogus wiki articles.

I'm going to be working on this adding info to ketsui, I guess the problem would be following the format, but I can work on it and make it work for me.

I made a thread and didn't realize this one was up already:

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=35796

But yeah, count me in.

[devilmanozzy]

Ok I am working on a test of a possible template for the reviews.

Here is what I have made so far:
http://shmups.co.uk/index.php5?title=Le ... _Vormbrock

Here is the review I based it on:
http://shmups.com/reviews/lethalxcess/index.html

Note I was given permission to use reviews from the site, as they will also to be included in the wiki.

Also, as I said earlier, the one change from the site is that there will be a page for the actual game and then a page per review. Note, how I have handled the name conventions thus far.

Two years ago I wrote that. Anyways, I have done a few more things to the table that holds the screen caps in the review. I really wanted it to not be in the way of the content. Anyways, My biggest concern is if it works "good enough" to read. HTML is always updating it seems and I really don't know whats in or out on the subject. I am not asking for a art critic here, only if it "works". In a week, (After http://shmups.co.uk/index.php5?title=Sh ... re_project is nearly complete as a table project aspect) I will be working on archiving the Xenocide Files. I feel that enough time has passed for people to post their 2 cents in, and this needs to get done.

I'm still on the fence on making the site for other reviews, and the templates that will be required, but that will be on my mind as I build this. The hope is that once all the old reviews are up, that maybe Marc, postman, or others will have interest in posting new reviews.

[devilmanozzy]

The wiki now can make imagemaps. Click the fish to the right on my profile page. She has a surprise for you.

http://shmups.co.uk/index.php5?title=User:Devilmanozzy

Also, now the wiki uses a favicon, however it is the same as the forum here.