Help:Style guide/Weapons
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 | This page in a nutshell: When editing weapon articles...
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Weapons are the bread and butter of Team Fortress 2. They were the first items to be patched into the game, and therefore are important to gameplay and strategy. The ever increasing arsenal of each class will leave the majority of players unaccustomed to their usage, or simply curious about their background or looks. As such, weapon articles must be kept in good condition as they are often the first port of call for visitors to the official Team Fortress Wiki.
The following Weapons Style guide aims to demonstrate the correct layout and style of these articles. Please refer to this in order to help improve existing weapon articles and raise them to high quality standards.
The term "weapon" refers to all equippable and usable class items in the game, excluding hats and certain Backpack items. PDAs and Bonk! Atomic Punch, for example, are classed as weapons whereas Dueling Mini-Game and Mann Co. Supply Crates are not.
Please note that these article should generally be restricted to this layout and order only. Sections scattered all over the place will leave readers easily confused and unable to easily progress from one article to another and make comparisons.
Contents
Title
The title of the page should be the weapon name without the 'The-' prefix.
Example: The Backburner article is entitled 'Backburner', not 'The Backburner'.
Occasionally weapon names will be disputed, particularly if they appear in two separate forms, such as Flamethrower and Flame Thrower. If such an instance occurs, raise the issue on the weapon's talk page and schedule a "Merge".
Introduction
All weapon articles must contain an introduction which will introduce the reader to the weapon and its main uses. This will serve as the article's initial portrayal of the weapon. It should include information such as, but not limited to, the class owner, a brief visual description, and any relevant gameplay information. This should be kept moderately up to date, and any outdated information moved to the Update history section.
Use of the weapon can be explained here, but it should be kept moderately brief and not delve into too much detail. Information regarding best use within maps, class match-ups, etc. should be moved to the correct strategy page for the class involved.
Weapon infobox
All weapon articles should be accompanied by the Template:Item infobox containing a single picture of the weapon (or more if, for example, there are team-color discrepancies) and its basic information. Ammo, cooldown, availability, and other uses may go here.
If a weapon cannot be selected while equipped (for example, the Chargin' Targe), then ammo-loaded and ammo-carried should be set to "N/A". Otherwise, those fields should be populated accordingly along with the reload field.
For consistency, the reload field should be populated with one of the following strings:
| Single | A weapon that reloads one shell at a time. For example, Shotgun, Rocket Launcher |
| Clip | A weapon that reloads to maximum capacity at once. For example, Shortstop, Syringe Gun |
| Recharge | A weapon that reloads via a recharge meter. For example, Bonk! Atomic Punch, Sandvich |
| No Reload | A weapon that doesn't reload ammunition. For example, Minigun, Flamethrower. |
Damage and function times
Numbers relating to the amount of damage dealt by the weapon at certain ranges and in set situations should be included, as well as figures for reloading, firing, and certain weapon abilities. All numbers should be indicated through community testing and the reader notified if otherwise.
Editors should use the damage table to present this information in a clear format.
Item set
Regarding weapons that are part of an item set, a section under this heading should be included along with links to the other weapons in the set. Demonstration videos of the set should be presented on the item set page only.
Demonstration
Crafting
Most weapons are now accessible through the Crafting system through the use of specific blueprints. These blueprints should be included using the subsection "Blueprint" and be presented in a blueprint table with the correct images and names.
Additionally, if the weapon is a key component of a blueprint for another weapon or item, this should also be here in a table under the subsection As a crafting ingredient.
Related achievements
Any official achievements in the game that are related to the weapon, either directly in the wording or can still be completed with said weapon, should be included. We are currently implementing templates of these achievements in order to save space and hassle.
Update history
As with any other asset of Team Fortress 2, weapons are subject to overall balance and may have been modified or altered by the developers in the past or future. Such changes should be noted with possibly a correct internal link to a patch and a summary reason where appropriate.
Good Example:
January 6, 2010 Patch
- Further corrections to knockback.
- Knockback now only occurs when the shots deal more than 30 damage and the enemy is in close range.
- The angle of the weapon when fired determines the knockback.
- It no longer affects grounded targets as much.
(Taken from Force-a-Nature)
Bad Example:
[[Feb 16, 2010]]
- Nerfed Natascha...AGAIN!!
- Added sum hats.
- Robin gave himself another hat, hacker. ¬_¬
Bugs
Often there will be unintentional problems with a weapon that many players will notice. Readers will need to be informed of these here.
Note that the term bug used here can cover a wide range of problems, from a gameplay mechanic to a cosmetic error. Bugs that are fixed through patches should be moved to the Update history section along with a link to said patch.
Bugs should be ordered as follows in this section :
- Game-breaking (major). The bug greatly alters the weapon's attributes and affects how it is used within the game to such an extent.
- The Half-Zatoichi is no longer honorbound and can be sheathed at any time.
- Game-breaking (minor). The bug alters the weapon, but its effects are not obvious and only take effect in certain circumstances.
- The Sandman's ball can pass through setup gates.
- Cosmetic. The bug has no discernable effect on gameplay; it is merely an eyesore.
- The Saxxy does not Cloak with the Spy in the first-person view.
Note: Cosmetic bugs, and their status as a bug, are open to debate. Many feel they are irrelevant, whilst others note their value. Please raise the issue with other editors in the IRC or the general discussion page, and come to a reasonable conclusion.
Unused content
Where the weapon has attributes or related media that have not yet been implemented in the game at the time, it should be noted here.
Trivia
This section is for all additional or interesting information regarding the weapon that does not belong in any other section. Trivia should be detailed information that may be of interest to a reader, possibly something they would not immediately know upon playing the game.
For more information regarding this, consult the trivia guidelines.
Gallery
Pictures such as player viewmodels should be included to show the weapon as it appears during the game. Related merchandise products tied to the weapon may also go here.
Further links
Readers may wish to know of related articles connected to the weapon. This will usually include a link to weapon strategies, as well as any similar weapon articles. It may also include a direct link to the weapon's 'Update' page on the Team Fortress 2 Blog.
References
Any links with direct importance to statements, wherever in the article, should be provided here with number citations.
Categorization
The article should end with the Template:Allweapons Nav and the relevant class navigation template. The relevant categories (such as weapons) should follow this.
