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Main Accessory/Costume List (perhaps others) - Proposal

3 replies [Last post]
Mon, 08/11/2014 - 16:39
Dracora-Speaking's picture
Dracora-Speaking

Main Accessory/Costume List - Proposal

I'm not very happy with the information about "styles" in the main accessory/costume lists. It's very silly/not very useful information - sure, people need to know there's variation - far more than just the sample image! But we can mention at the top of the table "many of these items come in several different colors and blahblah!" The "style" information is also very chunky, IMO. Anyway, this information is immediately apparent when you go to that item's page. "style" information gets pretty derpy for stuff like the Aura - I made adjustments for this in the past, but I don't like it! I'd like something more useful, say...description data.

Acessories don't have specific tooltip descriptions...they have the "this can be attached in BLAHBLAH slot at Bechamel and Blah Blah Blah." Most other items have lore-related (usually physical) descriptions.

I'd like to replace the content in "available styles" columns with descriptions. For costumes, we could use the official description of the item and/or make our own in a similar fashion to accessories:

for accessories - we would, as both users and editors, create a simple description that has the flavor of a tooltip- sticking to what the accessory looks like and how it behaves (if it animates), using plenty of synonyms. We should NOT speculate on/create lore-like text, just describe the accessory- lore is not something a wiki editor should generate. Of course, we would say "community description" in the column, not "description" since these details would not be official tooltip details (again, accessories don't have these).

I feel that this information will be far more useful than "styles" in helping users find what they're looking for, especially if they're familiar with the cntrl+f function. Example:

New/Returning User: I wonder if there's a tentacle accessory? *scrolls down after alphabetizing the table looking through T" hmm, no.

This user wouldn't find the Writhing Tendrils this way. Even if they were to cntrl+f and search tentacles, they wouldn't find them! As things are now, it's mostly up to luckily spotting things with one's eye.

But if we as editors add in a nice description like so:
~~~~Armor Back Slot - Writhing Tendrils - "Attaches two undulating, wiggling tentacle-like structures to the player's shoulder area" - sample image~~~~

If the game ever adds official descriptions (tooltip) to accessories, we can either replace the Community Description OR we could add the text in on top of the community description in italics. (Most official tooltip descriptions are in italics on the wiki).

So, yes, it would be unofficial text (and we should heavily emphasize this) but I feel that it would be very useful and, well, rather accurate in terms of getting players to understand the (aesthetic part of, haha) game.

Opinions? Want to do something similar for furniture, if this idea is liked? Remember, wikitables for different kinds of items are slightly different in structure - some have "group" columns and so on. Most accessories don't belong to a "group", unlike costumes and armor - they're just put into the game with different colorings under the same name, vs. furniture/costumes etc. are put in with slightly different names, like "obsidian hood of blahblah." Accessories just don't do this usually. Other things with more data like items with combat statistics wouldn't benefit from this as much, since the focus of those items is actual gameplay, not looks. I suppose it's still an option, but I'm not in favor of adding description data to gear tables at all.

Start listing potential "community descriptions" for your favorite accessories if you like this idea and want to help! Oh boy, lots of things to be picky about! Whip out your thesaurus and start churning your brain-gears: what would users search for? How can we be consistent? If it's a hair piece, mention hair! (Toupee, mustache, dapper combo...). Lots to talk about if people like it.

There's a few examples of this on the Unique Helmet Top page.

TL;DR: I want more useful information than "available styles" in the accessory/costume (and potentially others, really) tables - I propose "description" data.

Sun, 08/17/2014 - 20:54
#1
Dracora-Speaking's picture
Dracora-Speaking
Hurro?

I'll start looking into this now that the gremlin stuff on the wiki is mostly finished.

Phase 1) flesh out idea.

Phase 2) ask people if they like the idea on forums and in-game. Beginning in-game questionings starting around...today.

Phase 3) scrap it or do it, depending on phase 2's outcome.

Sun, 08/17/2014 - 23:20
#2
Bopp's picture
Bopp
sounds fine to me

I haven't been involved in this, because accessories are part of the game I know nothing about. But your example about tentacles seems like a reasonable motivation. How about "Unofficial Description" instead of "Community Description" for the name of the unofficial description?

Mon, 08/18/2014 - 07:20
#3
Dracora-Speaking's picture
Dracora-Speaking
General

@Bopp ah, that term doesn't matter IMO, "unofficial description" sounds fine to me.

As far as accessories go, there's some parameters I follow. For Bopp and others who "know nothing about accessories" - sure you do! there's not much to know: (hehe)

Accessories are very simple - they're all just painted copies of one form, and that form has a name. Like "Com Unit." Other aesthetic things, they're released in sets and groups like costumes and furniture, it's more complicated. Accessories can come from more than one place (frequently! see sprinkle aura, shadow recolored, and so on) so they don't really get to be organized by "group." Sometimes we can mention a "group," as with party hats and blowouts, in the notes section. But in general, accessories are organized by Form name. There are very few exceptions - see scarves and crests - when it comes to form changes vs. naming issues. Anyway, that's just the way things are, so, back to describing accessories:

For describing accessories:

Use the bulk of the available accessories to describe an item - prismatic, volcanic, and many divine items are not a standard to go by when describing an item. Example: com unit. Prismatic is very different from the rest. It wouldn't help a person find what they are looking for. If a person wants glowing things, they can use the Special Effects page/category and/or general x-themed categories. A com unit, in general, is not a glowing thing.

Example, goggles/glasses: use the term "lense" and/or "shiny/glowing" - "gremlin goggles" glow, regular "goggles" don't (prismatic does), glasses and round/giga shades shine, or have a sheen at certain angles - these are all eyewear. Someone could search "lense" and find all the similar-to-glasses eyewear that is helmet front, and that would be great. I mentioned hair for dappers and so on in my Original Post, similar term-grouping example.

What this should be is general shape and behavior descriptions, with as many of the "most common" synonyms used by people you can think of crammed in there. Soda, Pop, Sodapop, Cola - that sort of thing. I'd love to have more user/editor input+contributions for this idea, otherwise every accessory on the wiki will be described by me - which is silly, my opinion on what things are isn't the only description possible. IMO, the more perspectives we get, the more functional this can be, achieving the goal: "finding what you want in a sea of possibilities." Don't go swimming though, bolted vees look sharp.

Most importantly, keep the description short! This is something I have trouble doing.

List of words we could use a lot:

cloth/fabric - scarves, ribbons
"animalistic"/"monster-like" - dragon wings, valkyrie wings, most tails. Mention fur/scales etc. where appropriate.
robotic - targeting module and many, many others
lense
hair

etc. Think of more!

For unique accessories, we can further elaborate on what I've already put in tables quite some time ago. Like add "flower" to bloom halo, and so on.

List of words we shouldn't use:
None! As long as we say that it is NOT lore, and that it is a description made by USERS, we can safely say whatever we want within the appropriateness of language. Just don't try to force something that sounds like lore/pure opinion - like saying ribbons are biological cause they look like leaves. No.

I would love to pepper the staff with questions about accessories (like if the giga shades are intended to be a ref to that one anime, or if the Tome of Rage is at all related to Ezekiel Rage's Book of Rage). But this sort of thing is for notes, not the general description. But what if they suddenly give us descriptions for all the accessories? Awesome! (but, as I said, we'd still use the unofficial one for the "cnrtl+f" tool goal).

This project should be fun!

INB4 "there's missing images for many accessory pages" - yes, overworld animations and "more views" in general got put on the bottom of my to-do list. I'll start doing a few every weekend - my university starts back up in a week, so small things like this are more doable for me during that time. I'd rather do the huge wiki projects while I'm not worrying about writing about tiny things I see in my microscope.

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