View source for How to contribute

Welcome to the PCSX2 Wiki and make yourself at home!

You are free to contribute to this wiki if you have information to correct, update, or add here. Be sure to read these simple steps to be more productive and helpful.<br />
First of all if you are new to wikis, take your time to check out this '''[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Tutorial|tutorial]]'''.
Also take a look at here '''[[PCSX2 Wiki:Community Portal | Things to do on the wiki (besides adding test info to game pages)]]''' to check what's needed to get this wiki as complete as possible.

* Before creating a new game article please verify whether the game is already present in the wiki - use the search box on the left panel. As you should know many games have multiple releases, depending on revision and region. Therefore each game article may contain several infoboxes: one for each revision/region. For example the page for [[Drakan: The Ancients' Gates]] contains two infoboxes, one for the PAL release and another for the NTSC release. Thus there is no need to create new pages for each different region or release of the same game - instead, just add new infoboxes on the exisiting page as necessary.<br />
* When creating a new game page please ensure that you name it exactly after the original PS2 title. This will help to avoid any confusion in the future.

* For the sake of consistency and more efficient editing each game page may contain a number of predefined templates. The general article flow goes like this:<br />
** '''Template infobox''' -- used to show region information, box-art picture as well as some general info about the game. See usage info [[Template:Infobox|here]].
** Test tables (separated for Windows, Linux and Macintosh), each table use three templates: '''TestingHeader''','''TestingEntry''' and '''TestingFooter'''. See usage info [[Template:TestingEntry|here]].
** Any additional sections like picture gallery, PCSX2 configuration examples, etc...
** Any number of '''Issue''' templates. See usage info [[Template:Issue|here]].
** Any additional links or page references.

It looks something like this: <br />
<code><pre>
{{infobox game
|image             = Drakan_-_The_Ancients'_Gates.png
|caption           =
|developer         = [[Surreal Software]]
|publisher         = [[Sony|SCEA]] (US), [[Sony|SCEE]] (EU)
|genre             = Action-adventure, RPG
|wikipedia         = [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drakan:_The_Ancients%27_Gates Link]
|gamefaqslink      = [http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps2/451207-drakan-the-ancients-gates Link]
|reviewlinks       = {{ReviewLink|[http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-2/drakan-the-ancients-gates Metacritic]|78/100}}
|gameinfo          = In the decaying world of Drakan, the immortal Spirit Dragons are held captive. Now it's up to Rynn--a brave female warrior--and her dragon Arokh to save these spiritual leaders and the last remnants of humankind. Together with Rynn and Arokh, you'll need magical spells, resourcefulness, and powerful weapons to survive the vast environments. You'll gain skills as a fighter, an archer, or a mage as you fight ruthless enemies from the arctic tundra to the swamplands. The mysterious world of Drakan is filled with magical creatures, interesting characters, and challenging puzzles.<br />
Drakan: The Ancients' Gates is an action-adventure PlayStation 2 game with RPG elements by Surreal Software. It is the sequel to the 1999 PC game Drakan: Order of the Flame.
<!-- General props -->
|sw-rendering-only = 0
|widescreenpatch   = 1
|na_rating         = M
|na_rating_text    = Blood and Gore, Violence
<!-- Language props -->
|italian           = SCES-50006
|spanish           = SCES-50006
|french            = SCES-50006
|german            = SCES-50006
|english           = SCES-50006 & SCUS-97128 & SCUS-97169
<!-- NTSC-U props -->
|NTSCU             = 1
|serialsNTSCU      = SCES-50006
|CRCsNTSCU         = 04F9D87F<br/>ABC12345
|releasedateNTSCU  = July 5, 2002
|statusNTSCU       = 2
|linuxstatusNTSCU  =
|macstatusNTSCU    =
<!-- PAL props -->
...
</pre></code>

It's easy to update such pages as you only have to enter each variable's values after the equals ('''=''') sign. However, when you create a new page it will be empty so you will need to copy a sample infobox from any existing page and then correctly edit the values. For variables to which you do not know what to enter, leave them blank. Copy the Mac and Linux infoboxes as well but if you did not test them, leave their values blank and put a note saying 'untested' so players who tested on those platforms can fill up the variables later.<br />
* Values like serials, CRCs, release dates, and statuses are distinguished by '''region''' type. Find your region (be it PAL, NTSC-U or NTSC-J) and update the value accordingly. So for instance if you want to set the game as playable on Windows and your region is NTSC-U, assign '2' to 'statusNTSCU' variable.
* '''Status''' values are numeral, please do not set it to something like 'playable', it won't work. Use '2' to show that the game is playable, 1 = goes ingame, 0 = is broken. Remember, use the Preview button to make sure your edit shows up correctly before actually saving the page.
* '''Genre''' value can be any text but please be advised to stick to the current defined game categories (Action, Adventure, Arcade, Compilation, Casual, Fighting, Horror, MMO, Minigames, Shooter, Sports, Platformer, Puzzle, Racing, Remake, RPG, RTS are currently defined, please propose more [[Talk:Help! How to contribute guide|on the talk page]]). You can use any combination of these words to set up the game category. For example, setting genre to "Action-Adventure,RPG" automatically stores this game under Action, Adventure and RPG categories simultaneously. And if the genre is "Extreme Sports" the game will be categorized as [[:Category:Sports|"Sports"]]. You can also add categories by hand if necessary.
* You can set as many genres as you like delimiting them by commas (ex. "Action,Adventure,Fighting,Minigames"). This will put the game in all those categories simultaneously.
* Before committing the changes please confirm that they are correct by using Preview button. Fix any errors you may have inadvertently made and keep previewing until you are finally satisfied with all your edits - only then should you save the page. This will help you from committing multiple updates to correct each error as you find them.<br />
* When uploading pictures please crop unnecessary parts and name them according to the PS2 game title (for example, [[:File:Drakan2-shot1.png|this file]]).
* '''CRCs''' are special hexadecimal numbers uniquely identify the main executable game file (i.e. each game modification has its own CRC). You can find this value near the beginning of the console (activate it in Misc/Show Console menu) log. The line with it will look like this:<br />
'''<code>ELF (cdrom0:\SLPS_259.15;1) CRC=0x0A70CB4C, EntryPoint=0x00100008'''</code>'''<br />
The real CRC is the string after 0x, e.g. from the line above the real CRC is 0A70CB4C. 0x is added in 0.9.7, 0.9.6 simply shows real CRC in its console window e.g. CRC = 0A70CB4C


== I found the page and I want to add my specs to the test table ==
Let's say you found the game's page here on the wiki and it already has some information that you don't feel needs updating, but you'd like to mention that it plays better/worse on your computer. For this kind of information, find (or add) your platform and append '''Template:TestingEntry''' right before '''<nowiki>{{TestingFooter}}</nowiki>'''. It will look like this:

<pre>
{{TestingHeader|OS=Windows}}
{{TestingEntry
|Status=2
|Region=NTSC-U
|OS=Windows 8.1
|CPU=AMD FX-6350 @ 3.90 GHz
|GPU=AMD Radeon R9 270X
|Revision=1.4.0
|Graphics=GSdx 1.1.0 AVX2 (Direct3D11 Hardware)
|Sound=
* SPU2-X 2.0.0
* LilyPad 0.12.1
|Comments=Mostly playable with solid performance. Speedhacks used: EE Cyclerate: 2, VU Cycle Stealing: 1
|Tester=UserName
}}

Here is the place to insert another {{TestingEntry}} lines

{{TestingFooter}}
</pre>

Please don't write your life story in the comments section of the test entry. It is for the essential information only, you can mention bugs and used speedhacks there but if your comments section looks like a preface to a novel it may be better to move bugs mentions into [[Template:Issue|''Issues'' sections]] outside. It's just a suggestion and writing a wall of text is not a crime but it doesn't look that good in a table column and may not be appealing for others to read.

== Example of the above testcase ==
{{TestingHeader|OS=Windows}}
{{TestingEntry
|Status=2
|Region=NTSC-U
|OS=Windows 8.1
|CPU=AMD FX-6350 @ 3.90 GHz
|GPU=AMD Radeon R9 270X
|Revision=1.4.0
|Graphics=GSdx 1.1.0 AVX2 (Direct3D11 Hardware)
|Sound=
* SPU2-X 2.0.0
* LilyPad 0.12.1
|Comments=Mostly playable with solid performance. Speedhacks used: EE Cyclerate: 2, VU Cycle Stealing: 1
|Tester=UserName
}}
{{TestingFooter}}

== The page doesn't exist, how do I create it? ==
If you have already '''searched''' for the game you wish to edit information for on this wiki, but it doesn't exist, you can create it yourself. Don't worry, it's easy and only takes a minute! 
You can create a new page by adding the complete game name into the following input box (please make sure it is correctly spelled, you can check the spelling in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page wikipedia] or on any game site like, for instance, [http://www.gamespot.com gamespot]) and then pressing the button. The empty game infobox will be added on your new page so you'll be able to fill it up as you see fit:



<inputbox>
type=create
width=50
break=no
buttonlabel=Create new game article
preload=Template:New Game Article
</inputbox>

Good luck and thank you for contributing!

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