11 replies to this topic

[Dlardrageth]

Didn't see any mention of it, search turned up empty so here's the deal then...

Considering that it will still be a while till the game release and also considering that it is unlikely PGI will provide a full-fledged tutorial for complete newbies initially it could be benficial to start a Wiki project for each House/Faction. Main benefit of splitting it up over having a single one for the whole game would be that it's easier to find the specific info that way.

It should incorporate "House Lore" (which can be done before game launch), some typical faction Mech rundowns, a pointer to the BT novels best suited to get more info about each house, the relevant official house-specific BT publications and maybe even a full rundown of the canon House units as a reference data base. Maybe some sort of news ticker to log memorable events which are both House- and game-related

All this could be done easily by some PGI/community interaction, I actually don't think PGI would have to do that much work. Pretty sure there'd be plenty of community volunteers to help with that. And surely beats PGI having to divert major manpower to write a "Manual" for each House/Faction. And what's in it for "us" beyond that?

Well, for once it would really make life easier for newbies who get a more streamlined reference about "their" faction. Also those who never dug that deep into the background "lore". Having them sort through decades of BT sources and material all by themselves could be a rather overwhelming experience. Mind me, it shouldn't just be a "Newbie guide to House Davion" or something. But a database that also incoporates some nice fluff (which would be for the benefit of the whole game, a detailed background often draws gamer attention) and would be accessible via direct link from the game/forum interface. Seems a worthwhile feature to me.

And who knows, over time it might actually grow an extra part to serve as historical database to log noticeable actions in game. Where e.g. unit XYZ on the 22nd of November 3050 managed to capture planet ZYX. Thus ultimately serving both internal and external purposes. Of course one big Wiki with House-specific sections could do that job as well. Although if you make them House-specific, you could toy around some with different Wiki designs to give each more of a unique flavour.

[Strayed]

I suggest you check out http://mwowiki.org Seth done some fine work there.

[Dlardrageth]

Thank you, I both know about that Wiki and did check it before I posted. If you would bother to read my initial post, you'd realize it is about something different, though. It is not exactly the same to have a general Wiki for MWO and to have specifically themed Wikis for each faction. You could debate the necessity for the latter, sure, not like FASA ever released House-specific info or anything.

But just pointing to the existing Wiki that Seth started, which has nothing to do with my input is somewhat redundant maybe?

[Strayed]

Dlardrageth, on 23 November 2011 - 04:36 AM, said:

Thank you, I both know about that Wiki and did check it before I posted. If you would bother to read my initial post, you'd realize it is about something different, though. It is not exactly the same to have a general Wiki for MWO and to have specifically themed Wikis for each faction. You could debate the necessity for the latter, sure, not like FASA ever released House-specific info or anything.

But just pointing to the existing Wiki that Seth started, which has nothing to do with my input is somewhat redundant maybe?

Sorry I didn't know you knew about it from your initial post. And yes I did read it. What I meant was whats to stop you adding sections for each house into that wiki? I know it is kind of a general wiki at moment but setting up an individual wiki for each house would take a lot more effort and management than just creating sections in the mwowiki? Thats my point.

And ironically its debating the necessity now lol. Its a good idea for a fan project, are you actually asking for volunteers to set up the wiki's?

Edited by Strayed, 23 November 2011 - 04:48 AM.

[Dlardrageth]

Well, like I pointed out (probably not prominently enough), having one big Wiki for each and everything will be somewhat overwhelming. In particular if you are looking for something faction-specific only. We have to keep in mind there will be complete newbies that have very little to no knowledge about BT/MW coming to this game. And they might just be looking for a faction paint scheme or something.

Question being in those cases, would you rather like being pointed to some big Wiki where each and everything is listed anybody came up with regards to the game? Or would you rather being pointed to a smaller Wiki which lists only faction-specific data? It is really not about if and how Seth's Wiki is good/bad/brilliant/whatever. It's more about customer-friendly appeal. Sure, some of us don't mind going through dozens of sourcebooks to find the info that unfortunately isn't listed on Sarna.Net or somewhere for some reason. But the typical newbie? He'd like to get the info about fluff on the faction he just picked at arm's length.

Of course we can just wait if PGI eventually releases Faction/House "handbooks" for each faction at some point. In order to get the introductory/background content sorted. I just made a suggestion of what could be useful, not claiming it is a "must have".

Edited by Dlardrageth, 23 November 2011 - 04:54 AM.

[Strayed]

Dlardrageth, on 23 November 2011 - 04:53 AM, said:

Well, like I pointed out (probably not prominently enough), having one big Wiki for each and everything will be somewhat overwhelming. In particular if you are looking for something faction-specific only. We have to keep in mind there will be complete newbies that have very little to no knowledge about BT/MW coming to this game. And they might just be looking for a faction paint scheme or something.

Question being in those cases, would you rather like being pointed to some big Wiki where each and everything is listed anybody came up with regards to the game? Or would you rather being pointed to a smaller Wiki which lists only faction-specific data? It is really not about if and how Seth's Wiki is good/bad/brilliant/whatever. It's more about customer-friendly appeal. Sure, some of us don't mind going through dozens of sourcebooks to find the info that unfortunately isn't listed on Sarna.Net or somewhere for some reason. But the typical newbie? He'd like to get the info about fluff on the faction he just picked at arm's length.

Of course we can just wait if PGI eventually releases Faction/House "handbooks" for each faction at some point. In order to get the introductory/background content sorted. I just made a suggestion of what could be useful, not claiming it is a "must have".

I see your point now. Yeah this idea is good. I suppose people can join forums and ask questions but it'd be nice to have a short manageable read for you to get info on your faction. Question is would a wiki be good or maybe a small pdf document perhaps?

Edited by Strayed, 23 November 2011 - 05:01 AM.

[Seth]

I will be adding a brief background of each House/faction to the mwo wiki, including ISN broadcasts that are specific to them, and anything else relevant to them in the game. But I think a complete breakdown like you are looking for would be better added to Sarna which already has a great foundation of the Houses already.

[Strayed]

I know you aren't a fan much of a large wiki, but I saw this on mwowiki and was wondering if thats what you want? Although at moment its bare bones.

[Reggimus]

I'd suggest checking our Sarna.

Runs past the time setting for MWO but good stuff anyways.

For house info.

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Inner_Sphere

A list of battle tech novels.. with description..

http://www.sarna.net...ttleTech_novels

[Alizabeth Aijou]

Reggimus, on 24 November 2011 - 11:38 PM, said:

I'd suggest checking our Sarna.

Runs past the time setting for MWO but good stuff anyways.

For house info.

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Inner_Sphere

This.
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/House_Davion
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/House_Kurita
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/House_Liao
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/House_Marik
http://www.sarna.net...i/House_Steiner
http://www.sarna.net...i/House_Cameron

[Dlardrageth]

Hm, think I didn't quite make the point I wanted to. I have a load of stuff in print from old BT times still and I do check Sarna.Net if I want a quick update while at the comp. So for myself I'm not really concerned.

But then I'm not likely the typical new convert to BT and MW the game might get at release. And I really have doubts many of those newbies would bother to go to an external source they have to find first. I do expect them eventually wanting to get a "correct" paint scheme for their faction or something though. Or to get a bit of background on that House unit that just happened to be mentioned in game. Thus the House WiKi/Handbook idea. Well, guess if the need arises, either PGI or the hardcore faction loyalists will do something about it...

Edited by Dlardrageth, 26 November 2011 - 10:02 PM.

[Seth]

Well run with the idea if you feel strongly about it. Wikis aren't terribly hard to set up. I can give you some room and a database to set one up on my server. Once you're happy with it, you can buy a domain name for it for around $5. PM me if you're interested.