Help:Guide

The information here only applies to editing the wiki and was decided upon by other editors. Nothing here was set by SLG.

Welcome to the Eco Wiki Editing Guide!

This guide is an introduction to the structure and style of the Eco Wiki. Before doing extensive edits to the wiki, please read this guide.

Introduction to Wikicode

MediaWiki has plenty of tutorials. Check out https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Contents for an introduction to WikiCode.

Wiki Community

The Eco Wiki is written and edited by volunteers. The website is hosted and run by Strange Loop Games.

Editor Collaboration

ECO Contribution Wiki Discord - Join Discord for the quickest and most up-to-date response if you have a question about the wiki. This is a place for all people wishing to contribute to the Wiki to be able to discuss and help each other out.
Eco Discord - #wikiediting Channel. Join the Official Eco Discord.
Eco Wiki Editors Trello - This is where editors keep track of plans and tasks for the wiki. Anyone may view the board, but to participate, you must create a Trello account and get access from an admin. Ask for access in the Discord.
Talk pages - For questions and more focused discussions about editing specific pages, users should use that page's "Talk" page. Talk pages can be accessed by the "Discussion" tab in the top left of each page. Don't forget to sign your name with 4 tildes (~~~~) or the signature button.

Eco Wiki Admins

Wiki admins have the power to delete pages, block accounts and IP addresses, protect pages from editing, and more. For issues such as these that require admin attention, please message use on discord: https://discord.gg/ynCVtN5.

Wiki Extensions

Extension:EmbedVideo - is used to embed videos into the wiki.

Wiki Style

Color

The colour palette of the wiki will be changing with 0.9 update, please do not use the greens. A new Image bellow will be made soon - Scott (12/08/2020) File:ColorPalette.png

See color table with hex codes at File:ColorPalette.png

The color palette is used for many elements on the wiki. A brown color (same as the Eco inventory background) is used for infobox backgrounds, darkred for infobox headings, and the item "type" background is color-coded.

Third-Person

Write in an impersonal style and don't use pronouns (i.e. no "I", "you", or "he/she"; use "the player" or "players" instead).

However, gameplay advice is strongly encouraged. It makes the wiki more useful for players.

"Eco" vs. "ECO"

The game is called Eco in all references. Don't use "ECO".

Capitalization

All references to specific items should be capitalized. But since many items in Eco have generic names, the reference to an item may be lowercase. Usage depends on if you're using the definite or indefinite article (e.g. "use an axe to cut down trees" vs "use the Stone Axe to cut down trees." or "skill scrolls" vs. "Agriculture Skill Scroll")

Links

Per Wikipedia style, the first inline reference of the article name should be a link, which will make it show up bold.

The first reference of all items, skills, or game concepts should become links. All further references should not be links.

Comments

Comments can only be seen when editing an article. To create a comment, edit source and write your text like this:

<!-- This is a comment -->

Make sure you include the end hyphens and closing tag so the entire article does not become a comment.

Comments should be used for documentation or clarification, not questions or discussions about page content. Use the Talk pages instead for content discussion.

Wiki Structure

Wiki structure is centered around guide pages that thoroughly document game systems. Link structure should direct players to these pages. All items and skills in Eco should have the same page.

Guide pages

Guide pages serve as jumping-off points for players interested in particular aspects of the game. They should contain thorough information and numerous links so they rank highly in search engines. These pages will also be featured on the main page.

Pages about certain aspect of these systems should become redirect pages to the relevant guide page. For example, all links to specific Skill Scroll items should redirect to Research#Skill_Scrolls. The calories page should redirect to Food#Calories. There are no hard rules about what pages should be a standalone pages and what should be incorporated into the guide pages and turned into redirects. Wiki editors will make calls on when guide page sections become too long and should be moved to individual pages on a case-by-case basis. Use the Talk page for the relevant guide page to discuss these issues.

Below is a list of guide pages. Some of these pages are missing or incomplete since these systems are not fully implemented yet.

Getting Started — Introductory guide that new players should start with. Include miscellaneous "Tips & Tricks" section for early-game play.
Food — Explains the food system and how nutrients and calories relate to skill gain. Lists all food and cooking recipes. Pages such as nutrients and calories should redirect here.
Skills — Explains skill points and lists all skills in the game.
Crafting — Explains crafting system and lists all crafting recipes in the game (except food and research recipes).
Research — Explains the research system and lists all research recipes. Pages such as skill scroll and skill book should redirect here.
Housing — Explains how rooms, building materials, and furniture interact with player skill points and crafting station function.
Agriculture — Explains how agriculture works.
Pollution — Explains how pollution works.
World — Explains how world generation works and lists different biomes.
Ecosystem — Explains how plants and animals grow, die, and interact in Eco.
Economy — Explains how stores, contracts, currencies, and individually imposed taxes work.
Laws — Explains how drafting, voting, and implementation of laws work.
Government — Explains how elections, world leadership, and centrally imposed taxes (through the Treasury) work.
Server — Explains what servers are and links to tutorials on setting up, running, adminning, and updating servers.
Modding — Explains modding, contains an up-to-date list of major mods, and resources and tutorials for modding.

Page Structure

Every page should have a category assigned to it (or categories in some cases). See the section on categories below for which categories are applicable to which pages.

Item pages

Every item in Eco should have a page associated with it.

The page should start off with an Infobox containing some information about the item, then have a section for general information. NOTE: Make sure there are no double returns between the infobox/initial comments and the beginning of the text content Below the summary, add level 2 headings such as "Strategy" for strategy discussion and "Notes" for tips or useful facts in bullet form if there is content to include under those headings.

Next, an appropriate featured screenshot or picture for the page can be included with the following format: [[File:ImageName.jpg|thumb|600px|Caption]]

If desired, a level 3 heading called "See Also" can be included for references to highly relevant pages. This will cause the table of contents to be formed above this (the table of contents appears above the first heading).

After this, the item's description should be included by calling Template:Description. This will create a level 2 heading.

Next, include a level 2 header for "Crafting", and call Template:GetRecipes as needed.

Include extra pictures in a gallery format under a level 2 "Gallery" heading

A section for "History" should be included at the bottom of the page when the item has changed over updates to the game. This section can include bulleted notes about history or more specific version update tables. This is not a section for page edit history.

Finally, include category tags.

Below is an example of item page structure for the page "Log":

<!-- https://wiki.play.eco/en/Help:Guide -->
{{Infobox_Item|name=Log}}
<!-- Summary (no heading needed) -->
A [[Log]] is a block item that can be harvested from [[trees]] using an [[axe]]. Up to 10 logs may be carried in a player's hands. Logs can be placed on the ground by right-clicking. Hitting placed logs with an axe will turn them into [[Hewn Log]]s, a building material.

Logs must be stored in a [[Stockpile]] or on the ground, but a [[Carpentry Table]] can turn them into [[Board]]s, which can be stored in chests and are used to make some items. 

Mid to late-game, Logs are used to make the more advanced [[Lumber]].

<!-- Image -->
[[File:Logs_Stacked.jpg|thumb|600px|Logs stacked in the world]]

==Strategy==
Sustainable harvesting of Logs requires responsible replanting and cleanup practices. Use an axe on tree leaves to harvest tree [[seeds]] before chopping down a tree. Clean up [[Wood Pulp]] to allow saplings and other plants to regrow in the area.

==Notes==
* Logs can be stacked to make walls, ceiling, or floor of a basic room that can be used for [[crafting]].

<!-- ==In-game Description== -->
{{Description|item=Log}}

==Crafting==
{{GetRecipes|item=Log}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Logs_Stacked.jpg|Logs stacked in the world
</gallery>

==History==
* Prior to Alpha [[versions|version]] 0.6.4.2, the skill [[Logging Yield|Logging yield]] increased the amount of logs picked up by 1 each level. With points invested in Logging Yield, players could maximize the number of logs gained from a single tree by cutting it into the smallest possible chunks. Each chunk would benefit from the Logging Yield skill, effectively multiplying the Logs gained by the skill.

[[Category:Resources]] [[Category:Blocks]]

Skill pages

Every profession and specialty in Eco should have its own page describing it.

Each page will begin with an Infobox_Skill template.

Then it will include an Unlocks table about the Skills Details.

For a Speciality, include a Learning Heading with a Get Recipes template.

Add Category:Skills, Category:Specialties, or Category:Professions

Below is an example of a skill page structure on the page Specialty, Smelting.

{{Infobox_Skill|name = Smelting}}
{{SkillDetails|skill = Smelting}}

== Learning ==
{{GetRecipes|item=Smelting Skill Book}}

[[Category:Specialties]]

Templates

Templates
- Infobox Templates

Templates are elements of the wiki that are pre-fabricated and are used across the wiki. Templates are inserted into a page with curly brackets. For example, to insert the Outdated template, an editor will simply type "{{Outdated}}". More information about each template and how to use them can be found on the template's page, and a full list of templates can be found by going to Special:AllPages and setting the namespace to Template.

Infoboxes

Infoboxes are used on all item, skill, animal, plant, and tree pages as a "fast facts" reference for all the vital attributes regarding the item, skill, animal, plant, and tree.

Each infobox has its own parameters that currently must be entered manually. Visit each template page to see the params. A system for automating infobox params with information pulled from the game is in the works.

Infobox_Item

{{Infobox_Item|name = 'Item name'}}

Template:Infobox_Item is used for pages about items such as food, tools, crafting materials, or blocks.

Infobox_Skill

{{Infobox_Skill|name = 'Skill name'}}

Template:Infobox_Skill is used for skill pages.

Infobox_Animal

{{Infobox_Animal|name = 'Animal name'}}

[[Template:Infobox_Animal] is used for animal pages.

Infobox_Plant

{{Infobox_Plant|plant='Plant name'}}

{{Infobox_Plant|tree='Tree name'}}

Template:Infobox_Plant is used for Plant and Tree pages.

Contentneeded

{{contentneeded}}

Template:Contentneeded should be used for pages that need some more information or are incomplete. It adds a text box to the top of the page, and adds the page to Category:Content needed.

Imagesneeded

{{imagesneeded}}

Template:Imagesneeded should be used for pages that need some screenshots or images to make them more interesting. It adds a text box to the top of the page, and adds the page to Category:Content needed.

Outdated

{{Outdated}}
{{Outdated|Version}}

Template:Outdated creates a text box that warns players the information on the page may be outdated. If "Version" is specified, it notes it as the version in which the page became outdated. It also adds the page to Category:Outdated pages.

Delete

{{Delete|Regular deletion reason}}
{{Delete|Speedy deletion reason|speedy}}

Template:Delete flags a page for deletion and adds it to Category:Candidates for deletion. This creates a text box at the top of the page announcing that the page has been flagged for the reason passed in to the template. If there is need for the page to be deleted in a short time, speedy can be specified. Adding "speedy" to the template adds the page to Category:Candidates for speedy deletion.

Description

{{Description|text=This is an item description}}
{{Description|item=Item Name}}

Template:Description creates a heading and block quote. Either "text" or "item" can be specified, and "item" takes precedence if both are provided. If "text" is specified, the template uses the given text as the description. Specifying "item" causes the template to pull the item's description from Module:ItemData.
The logic for handling the parameters and deciding what text to display is contained in Module:Description.

GetRecipes

{{GetRecipes|item=Item Name}}
{{GetRecipes|table=Crafting Table}}
{{GetRecipes|table=Crafting Table|group=Group}}
{{GetRecipes|group=Group}}

Template:GetRecipes is used to get a list of applicable recipes from the game. The recipes are formatted in a wikitable, and are given appropriate level 3 headers. If "item" is specified, the template grabs all recipes that either create the item or that use the item as an ingredient. This parameter takes precedence over all other parameters. When "table" is specified, the template grabs all recipes that are available at the given crafting table. Specifying "group" causes the template to gather all recipes that create an item that belongs to the given group. Both "table" and "group" can be specified together to narrow down the list of recipes that are selected.
The logic handling for this template is done by Module:GetRecipes and Module:CraftingParser.
To manually create a list of recipes in the same wikitable format as used in this template, see Template:RecipeTable.

IconFrame

{{IconFrame
    |file = Workbench.png
    |link = Workbench
    |text = <h3>[[Workbench]]</h3>
}}

Template:IconFrame creates a frame with a specific image, text, and link. This template can be used to create headings with the text param.

RecipeTable

Template:RecipeTable is used to manually create a list of recipes. The table that is output by this template is in the same format as ones produced by Template:GetRecipes. For information on how to use this template, please see this template's page.