ModaWiki aka, ModaWakaWakaWaka

[Kornman00]

I'm wanting to get some user feedback on a concern I have.

A while back, while writing some articles for our site's wiki, an issue of conflicts popped into mind. Specifically: engine conflicts. IE, while the wiki is mostly filled with Halo stuffs, what if someone started adding some Source shit? Granted, our site is in no way a valuable source when it comes to anything other than Halo (not even sure if that will ever change), but what if someone wanted to post such stuff here than on some Source specific wiki (http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Main_Page)?

Some feedback that I got from one or two other staff members was 'don't worry about it'. Well one thing that I've learned in developing software is to always think about the future. If you don't take action now, you'll settle for nothing now and you'll settle for nothing later. It's a fucking pain to go back and change numerous source files. I'd hate to picture how much of an undertaking it would be to refractor a fucking wiki. Hell, we're even having headaches with mass-tagging and mass-prefixing threads (or maybe it was just the latter)

So, should anything be done to Halo related articles to clearly mark them as Halo based? What should this marking be (ie, "string_id (Blam Engine)")? What if we decide to support other Halo engines (ie, Halo 3 on Xbox) or a PC version of Reach comes out (ie, "projectile (HaloReach_PC)"?

Planning and having a solid base protects you from future natural disasters. Like the flood you experience when trying to rush to support a new game so you can attract new users or keep existing ones from leaving to someplace else which beat you to the punch.

So, thoughts? Hell, any thoughts on our current setup of non-Halo engine stuff in general? A community is only as good as its users and the official's abilities to communicate with them.

[Ifafudafi]

Keep in mind this entire site was built to anticipate H2V, and we all know how that turned out

Also keep in mind that very, very few people seem to give a shit. Our wiki really isn't a valuable source of information even when it comes to Halo; siliconmaster's updated the tutorial page but we haven't had any other major efforts at additions & edits in months, and when you've got extremely comprehensive (developer supported!) wikis on Unreal and Source and such already in place, adding onto ours seems wholly unnecessary and redundant.

If Reach comes to PC, and then if (these are massive ifs) it doesn't suck penises, maybe there's something worth doing, but until we get confirmation on that and rename the site to HRPC.net, there's just really no point in bothering with the wiki imho.

[Siliconmaster]

When I look at the wiki I don't really see a fully functional and useful site- what I see instead is the opportunity to actually compile what we know about Halo development in one place. Think about it- not that a whole lot of people are starting up in Halo 1 development, but how did we all learn stuff? By joining a forum and talking to people who had been working with Halo for a long time. Well, in the future, those people aren't going to be around any more. Not that we'll all leave, but that original development community is already starting to fade, and if we don't put it in writing, it's going to disappear in time.The tutorial page is pretty useful, but there are still gaps we could fill.

I agree with Ifafudafi that other game engines already have comprehensive developer supported wikis- we don't need to do that. Instead, I say we do add a HCE_ identifier to the CE pages, so at least there is that option of expanding, but we focus on fleshing out the Halo stuff. At least get it to a point that someone totally new could go to the wiki, and get a much better tutorial on Halo development than that blasted HEK one ever did.

[English Mobster]

I like the "particle_effects (Blam Engine)" idea. I'm a total noob when it comes to H2V, so I'm not sure if that still qualifies as the Blam engine or if that's Blam 2 or what, but that would be good enough to sort out game from game.

[Ifafudafi]

Oh and remember that the current HCE/H2V userbase consists of around 20 people (now that the CMT fanboys have left). I just don't think there's enough interest left in the games to warrant a comprehensive wiki; new modders are heading over to engines that haven't been dead for five years and the three or four of us who still work with Halo games know our shit and are about to stop doing it anyway.

Really my biggest doubt is that people will care enough to put effort into actually making all the necessary pages. Right now, the only really useful page is the tutorial index, and making entire got dang pages for every single got dang tag and application is a lot of effort for the sake of four or five guys still into this game.

[Kornman00]

H2V's user base is larger than that...so is HCE (remember that the versioning has screwed up and divided the crowd). Just that all of these other users don't come here or probably don't really forum to begin with. Our forum doesn't signify what is left of these two games. However, we've done nothing really to attract any of these other people (though I guess some of them are best staying at halomaps.org's forums heh). "If you build it, they will come" wasn't just a quote from a movie about a ghost baseball team or w/e. If you listen and look at what the users want, you'll keep them and/or bring new ones into the mix. If that doesn't initially work then create the equivalent of an ice-cream-truck (ie, eye candy or something just mind blowing) and lure them in (non-pedobear style of course).

Then there is all the people who are still playing HaloPC...

[Shock120]

Keep in mind this entire site was built to anticipate H2V, and we all know how that turned out
...If Reach comes to PC, and then if (these are massive ifs) it doesn't suck penises, maybe there's something worth doing, but until we get confirmation on that and rename the site to HRPC.net, there's just really no point in bothering with the wiki imho.If Halo Reach PC were to be released for PC, I would see how it would shutup the greatest requests ever wanted for HCE.
AI Sync (script and cinematic sync)

I don't blame anyone for not moving to H2V. H2V is like HCE v1.01, netcode and graphical enhancements with added annoyance of the tag formats.
There was no short and long term benefits of moving to H2V.

ModaWakaWakaWaka for all Halo/Source/Crysis games would be appreciated, as there are very knowledgeable people here.

[Inferno]

ModaWakaWakaWaka for all Halo/Source/Crysis games would be appreciated, as there are very knowledgeable people here.

UDK.

[Dwood]

Just add "particle_effects (Blam Engine)" like the real wikipedia does.

<slightly Offtopic>
I don't really care much for the current wiki's content as it needs to add more to it- I really think it would help development for Custom Edition if people worked mapped out tags for the wiki, as well as more tutorials on things like reversing, code caves, Open Sauce, etc.

[Arteen]

Maybe more people would use the wiki if they didn't have to use Bing to find the link. I didn't know it still existed.

[Siliconmaster]

We need a link. Right next to the Blog, or What's New links. If you can't see it, people won't use it. Also, the main front page on the wiki needs to be changed. Right now it's more of a "somebody help me" than a "welcome to our wiki". You have to go rummaging through the community portal to actually find anything.

[ThePlague]

If I knew more about Halo 2 Vista modding, i'd totally move into it. But right now there aren't enough tutorials to help me out. I had to talk through 6 different people on my xfire just to figure out how textures work, and i've forgotten how since.