XCOM Modding: Need of a centralized source of information?

[anUser]

 

Every XCOM article needs to be tagged with the game name "XCOM". That's the category that will be linked to from the front-page. What

I'm willing to help out with organizing the wiki. But I'm having to learn how MediaWiki markup functions, and the navigation capabilities seem limited and less than crystal clear.

 

Two clarifications and a request, please.

 

1. By 'tagged' I assume you mean adding 'Category:XCOM' to an article page? I found an 'XCOM' page, but that is separate a 'Category:XCOM' page. If you are not talking about an 'XCOM Category', how do we 'tag'? (I don't see 'tags' in the MediaWiki docs.)

 

2. And by article you mean a separate subject from other subjects/articles? You don't really want every single page including those consisting of nothing by hex code changes that have no meaning outside of the correct context appearing at the very top level page, do you?

 

3. Would it be possible to have the page edit submission process for a page that doesn't already exist automatically add the page to a 'Pages' or '<namespace> Pages' navigation menu item, similar to how the 'Recent Changes' navigation link works now? That way we don't have to worry that a page becomes orphaned simply because the author or an editor forgot to add a category tag initially. I would think that would be helpful on any namespace.

 

I'm putting together a proposed 'Navigation RoadMap' document I think should go on the top level 'XCOM' page, based upon AnUser's suggestions. I believe that will help everyone use as well as create new pages and links in a consistent manner. I'll put it up here for discussion first.

 

-Dubious-

hey, thanks mate! I'm glad someone else's willing to contribute. I'll clarify this points, but I also want to make clear that what I said in my post wast just my opinion to open the debate, if you clearly see a better way to go then do it the way you see the better

 

1- yes, I meant category, there's no other taggin system I'm aware of neither

2- yeah... I meant really every file, if they're sorted alphabeticaly, and one knows what s/he's looking for... maybe it wasn't that a good idea

3- ... perhaps having a template for most common entry types would be enough to prevent orphan pages...

[Amineri]

If you really don't know what you are looking for, there is a search function on the wiki that works well. Maybe an "XCOM_Index" category could be used for building the kind of near-complete listing that anUser is thinking about.

 

Having a template with with at least one category defined as well as the index category should help limit the number of orphaned pages.

[dubiousintent]

Actually, my questions were directed to Dark0ne, as he's the one who has to have things fit into his site correctly and add the requested functionality. But it's still good have another opinion as to what he meant.

 

Here is my rough draft for the main 'XCOM' page:

This is the Main page for articles and tutorials related to the 'XCOM: Enemy Unknown 2012' as released by Firaxis.

 

== XCOM Wiki Navigation ==

 

'Categories' are used for navigation within the XCOM namespace. Think of them as 'Tables of Contents'. They appear in a separate box at the bottom of each page linked to them.

 

'Pages' are used to describe things and have explanatory text, while 'Category Pages' are collections of links to 'Pages'. If a 'Category' is not added to a 'Page', then that page will not appear in that collection of Category links. 'Category' links must be manually added to a page by including '[[Category:<category name>]]' on it's own line at the bottom of the page text.

 

Here is the roadmap of how the Wiki 'XCOM' name space is organized into Categories. It is not completely encompassing at all levels, but rather shows the general structure.

 

== Navigation RoadMap ==

 

* 'Category:XCOM': The Main page for articles and tutorials related to the 'XCOM: Enemy Unknown 2012' (XCOM:EU 2012) game as released by Firaxis through Steam.
** 'Category:Modding - XCOM:EU 2012': A major Category for Modding related subjects, tools, and tutorials.
*** 'Category:Abilities Modding Subject - XCOM:EU 2012': Subcategory of Articles on modifying Abilities and Perks (all actors: alien and XCOM)
**** 'Abilities Modding Subject - XCOM:EU 2012': Page on how abilities work, and proven code to modify that. (Currently 'Category:Abilities_XCOM_Modding_Subject' page.)
*** 'Category:Functions Modding Subject - XCOM:EU 2012': Subcategory of Articles on Functions.
----
***** 'XGAbilityTree.BuildAbilities Function - XCOM:EU 2012': Page on Specific function and code breakdown. (Currently 'XGAbilityTree.BuildAbilities' page.)
***** 'Perks Mod - XCOM:EU 2012': Example of Page on Mod to change Perk selection choices.
----
*** 'Category:Classes Modding Subject - XCOM:EU 2012': Placeholder category for articles on how Classes work and code for altering them.
*** 'Category: Enum Values Modding Subject - XCOM:EU 2012': Subcategory of articles on Enum value functions.
----
**** 'XGTacticalGameCoreData.EAbility Enum Values - XCOM:EU 2012': Example of Page of values returned
**** <Other pages of Enum values returned by this function>
----
*** 'Category:Tutorials on Modding - XCOM:EU 2012': Subcategory of Articles on How To Mod XCOM:EU 2012.
**** 'Hex editing UPK files Tutorial - XCOM:EU 2012': Page on how to hex edit UPK files.
**** 'Hex values editing UPK files Tutorial - XCOM:EU 2012': Page on various hex values used to edit UPK files.
**** 'Developer Shell Tutorial - XCOM:EU 2012': Page on how to implement the Developer Shell within the game.
**** 'DefaultGameCore.ini settings Tutorial - XCOM:EU 2012': Page on known information of the settings and values of the INI file embedded within the game executable.
----
*** 'Category:Mods Subject - XCOM:EU 2012': Subcategory of specific Mods
**** 'Perks Mod - XCOM:EU 2012': Page for description of Mod to change Perk selection choices.
***** 'Category:Perks Mod - XCOM:EU 2012': Subcategory of only pages required by this mod.
----
**** 'Squadsight Aim Penalty Mod - XCOM:EU 2012': Page for description of Mod to change the long range aim penalties to units using Squadsight perk.
***** 'Category:Squadsight Aim Penalty Mod - XCOM:EU 2012': Subcategory of only pages required by this mod.
----
**** 'XGAbilityTree.BuildAbilities Function - XCOM:EU 2012': Page for description of Mod to change the function that builds the Ability/Perk Tree. [NOTE: This is the same page linked under 'Category:Functions Modding Subject - XCOM:EU 2012'.]
***** 'Category:XGAbilityTree.BuildAbilities Function Mod - XCOM:EU 2012': Subcategory of only pages required by this mod.
**** <Other pages and subcategories of mods>
----

== Guildelines ==

 

Categories as used here are organized in a heirarchical fashion by breadth of subject manner. The 'Page' with the same name as a 'Category' may be used as the only link to that Category page to reduce the clutter on higher level pages by confining only narrowly related pages to that Category. This mean the subject matter 'Page' will appear in the lower 'Pages' portion of the Category page, rather than in the upper 'Subcategories' portion. A prime example of this is the 'Category:XCOM Mods' link, which only contains links to the descriptive page for each mod. Each Mod descriptive page (<mod name>) has a Category Page for that specific mod (Category:<mod name>), which is included on all the related pages for that mod. The 'Page' text may also include links to some or all of those same mod related pages.

 

Categories automatically organize pages alphabetically by the first letters of the Page name (excluding the word 'Category:'). As there is no method of renaming a page name once created, an new page must be created and the old page contents copied over to effect a change in name. Therefor care needs to be taken when creating a new page or subject. Beginning every page with 'XCOM' would cause all the categories and pages to be organized under the letter 'X'. The adopted convention is to end the name with '- XCOM:EU 2012' (or other release version name), so there remains a means of identifying that it relates to which release of the game. This is necessary because the original XCOM game was also named 'Enemy Unknown' and often referred to as 'XCOM:EU' as well. It is conceivable material related to that release may find it's way to this site.

 

Sometimes the distinction between categories for a particular article can be difficult. Here are some guidelines:

 

Tutorials show 'How To' do something to someone who has never before attempted the process. Included code should be functional, but considered an example rather documenting the working or be considered a complete 'mod'.

 

Factual discovery information should be presented in a straightforward 'here is how it works' fashion as a 'Modding Subject', and the examples on what and how to change it should presented on a separate 'mod' page linked to the 'subject' article.

 

Where more than one Page is directly related to an article or mod, there should also be a 'Category:<same name>' as the article or mod, which is then added to each related page.

 

I'm going to put this on the main 'XCOM' page so we can see how it will display. The indenting here was simply for readability. The number of '*' determines the actual level of wiki indentation.

 

[Edit: Oh yeah. I already see that we need a 'Category:Tutorials' that has 'Category:Modding Tutorials' under it, so there is a place to link in non-modding related tutorials at the same level as 'Category:Modding'. I'm adding that to the XCOM page now.]

 

-Dubious-

Edited April 29, 2013 by dubiousintent

[Amineri]

I've read it over a few times, and it looks good, Dubious!

 

I'll post up comments on the Discussion page on the article itself.

 

Thanks a bunch for taking this on and making it easier to get the mod info up there on the wiki :)

[dubiousintent]

Glad I can help. If anyone has any questions when you are ready to post something, feel free to PM me.

 

There being no objections, I'll start on creating and moving current content to new pages matching the revised scheme (after I check the comments on the existing discussion pages).

 

I'm also planning to contact some of the people on the 2KGames Forums who have put together some interesting collections of game play analysis for contributions (or at least permission to replicate their published work) for some Strategy and Tactical pages. I'm thinking that those will be under a 'Gameplay' Category. We need to expand beyond simply a modding focus to make the site useful to the more common player. But I'll wait on that until the re-organization is finished.

 

-Dubious-

[Amineri]

Also, you could provide a link to http://www.ufopaedia.org/, and request that they publish a link to the XCOM Nexus wiki.

 

Ufopaedia already has a page for mods / suggestions, but it is woefully out of date.

[Dark0ne]

I have added the XCOM boxart and link on the front page so you can see how and where it will link, and you can work from that.

 

My only suggestion is to try and keep it relatively simple, and not too complex with hundreds of categories with 1 or 2 articles in each. It's better to have 5-10 categories with 10-20 articles in each, rather than 100 categories with 1-2 articles in each.

[Amineri]

Excellent

 

I have added the XCOM boxart and link on the front page so you can see how and where it will link, and you can work from that.

 

My only suggestion is to try and keep it relatively simple, and not too complex with hundreds of categories with 1 or 2 articles in each. It's better to have 5-10 categories with 10-20 articles in each, rather than 100 categories with 1-2 articles in each.

 

Excellent! Looks like we're on our way to having a fully functioning place to put up our modding information! Thanks a bunch :)

[dubiousintent]

I've been adding what I felt were some essential pages, in order to get templates up for 'Modding Subjects' and 'Mods' They are found off the new 'Guidelines for new posts' page, which lays out the naming standards proposed above. I modeled the Mods layout heavily off Amineri's 'Squad Sight' mod. Comments solicited, especially if things aren't clear. (I have been accused of wordiness, over-explaining, and 'excessive use of single quotes' in the past.)

 

You might notice some additional content as well. For instance, now the 'Editing Help' link on the bottom of page will bring up a list of help links, including one for how to add files to pages, as well as formatting, links, and the top level of the MediaWiki site. All things I found myself needing desperately. Most new stuff is hanging out in the 'Tutorials' categories.

 

Now I think I can move on to moving existing content to new pages conforming to the naming standard. Which is where I had originally intended to start. Oh well, I'm sure our code divers are very familiar with the feeling.

 

-Dubious-

Edited April 30, 2013 by dubiousintent

[Amineri]

To be truly familiar, you'd have needed to try six or eight different things, only to have them all not work. Then, finally, you come up with a super simple way to make it work after :wallbash: for several days :)

 

It is kind of funny how the "tutorial" becomes somewhat self-referential, almost -- tutorials on modding leads to tutorials on how to create wiki pages. I've had some thoughts on what I should have put in the mod articles, so I might add a couple of sections to the templates.