Empire of Sin wiki content updates

[SolSys]

Hi folks,

I'm SolSys and am currently the main editor on the EoS wiki.
I am interested to hear what kind of content the community would like to see added to the wiki so I could take that into account (though no promises).

As a general note, I am currently in the process of pushing updates to weapons/items and later on was thinking on missions/events.

 

[Andre Bolkonsky]

Hi folks,

I'm SolSys and am currently the main editor on the EoS wiki.
I am interested to hear what kind of content the community would like to see added to the wiki so I could take that into account (though no promises).

As a general note, I am currently in the process of pushing updates to weapons/items and later on was thinking on missions/events.

At the moment there is absolutely zero reason to consult the wiki. It is worthless from a new player's perspective. The several times I did go there looking for information, it is nonexistent. I don't want to be rude, but do the players need to explain to the devs how to play and explain the game?

I don't need to be told how weapons work, they are very self explanatory. What you need to focus on are the game play intricacies which need to be explained to the new players to attempt to encourage people to invest in this game.

I'll give you an example. The Taxi service is next to impossible to understand until someone tells you. Go and look around the posts and notice the number of times it comes up. Try that next, that one does not go to the taxi stand, but uses it as a portal from anywhere.

Or, better yet, just survey the questions asked and methodically eliminate those that recur most frequently.

 

[SolSys]

There may have been a misunderstanding -- I am not a developer.

My limited time doesn't allow me to play a game or survey the forums for questions. I add content to the wiki using the game files based on what I think I would have looked for (meaning, various game stats).

With all that said, there is something I would like to address in your response which may not have been clear enough to others as well:
If the community deems there is crucial information missing from the community wiki, then the community can, and should, add it to the community wiki.

While it wasn't the kind of answer I was expecting to, I do appreciate the feedback and will take it into account.


Edit: The taxi bit was actaully already in -- it was the first result in the search, but I added a redirect for "Taxi" just in case.

 

[Novatheorem]

@SolSys - Personally, I'd really like to see the trigger conditions for some of the traits. It seems like a lot of them are static, but if I wanted to try out combinations like Kind and Happy, what would I need to do to trigger it? Is it even possible to have it added to a character? Stuff like that would be helpful to have in the Traits section.

 

[Andre Bolkonsky]

There may have been a misunderstanding -- I am not a developer.

My limited time doesn't allow me to play a game or survey the forums for questions. I add content to the wiki using the game files based on what I think I would have looked for (meaning, various game stats).

With all that said, there is something I would like to address in your response which may not have been clear enough to others as well:
If the community deems there is crucial information missing from the community wiki, then the community can, and should, add it to the community wiki.

While it wasn't the kind of answer I was expecting to, I do appreciate the feedback and will take it into account.


Edit: The texi bit was actaully already in -- it was the first result in the search, but I added a redirect for "Taxi" just in case.

No offense is intended, I am sure you have nothing but the best intentions, but out of curiosity are you are a paid employee of Paradox or a willing volunteer? There is zero manual. All players are forwarded to this wiki which they take some pride in but which is a skeleton devoid of information. I have gone there several times, it is a joke at this point badly in need of being fleshed out.

The overriding question based upon your reply is why would someone who knows nothing about a game and openly states he doesn't have time to play it or scan the forums be in charge of writing the wiki? You want to understand why half the forum is up in arms about the quality of the release? This might be an example worth citing.

If you are a willing volunteer, God bless you; if you are an employee, I wish you Godspeed. I love this game's potential, but it is stuff like this that drives the 'mixed reviews' dominating Steam.

 

[Mag Riada]

The overriding question based upon your reply is why would someone who knows nothing about a game and openly states he doesn't have time to play it or scan the forums be in charge of writing the wiki? You want to understand why half the forum is up in arms about the quality of the release? This might be an example worth citing.

This is the admin of Paradox Wikis overall. If you stop for a second and think about it do you really think that playing every single paradox game is a prerequisite for that role? Do you really think steam reviews are about the quality of the wiki? It looks more like you'd take any opportunity to get a dig in.

Come and join us in building the wiki together as the game evolves.

It is a community wiki. Edit it if you find it so wanting.

 

[Eber]

No offense is intended, I am sure you have nothing but the best intentions, but out of curiosity are you are a paid employee of Paradox or a willing volunteer? There is zero manual. All players are forwarded to this wiki which they take some pride in but which is a skeleton devoid of information. I have gone there several times, it is a joke at this point badly in need of being fleshed out.

The overriding question based upon your reply is why would someone who knows nothing about a game and openly states he doesn't have time to play it or scan the forums be in charge of writing the wiki? You want to understand why half the forum is up in arms about the quality of the release? This might be an example worth citing.

If you are a willing volunteer, God bless you; if you are an employee, I wish you Godspeed. I love this game's potential, but it is stuff like this that drives the 'mixed reviews' dominating Steam.

I have to respectfully disagree with you. As a former technical writer, I can assure you that you do not need "experience" in what you are writing. Can it help? Potentially, but often there are guidelines you must follow. Plus, as he looks at the game files, he has all the information he needs to write a good wiki. In my past, I wrote manuals for technical systems simply based on code and user experience with interface, with no personal interaction in the system. So it's entirely possible.

I understand it can be upsetting that the game isn't as polished as all of us may have wanted, but being aggressive, at least in your first post, towards someone who is just trying to make the community better isn't the right way to go about it.

 

[Andre Bolkonsky]

I have to respectfully disagree with you. As a former technical writer, I can assure you that you do not need "experience" in what you are writing. Can it help? Potentially, but often there are guidelines you must follow. Plus, as he looks at the game files, he has all the information he needs to write a good wiki. In my past, I wrote manuals for technical systems simply based on code and user experience with interface, with no personal interaction in the system. So it's entirely possible.

I understand it can be upsetting that the game isn't as polished as all of us may have wanted, but being aggressive, at least in your first post, towards someone who is just trying to make the community better isn't the right way to go about it.

I have worked on several games over the years and work as a professional writer. I don't need to be told the process.

My question was whether or not Solsys was an employee or a volunteer.

And with all due respect, my criticisms are hardly the most scathing of those found on the internet.

 

[Eber]

I have worked on several games over the years and work as a professional writer. I don't need to be told the process.

My question was whether or not Solsys was an employee or a volunteer.

And with all due respect, my criticisms are hardly the most scathing of those found on the internet.

You softened your approach and your question whether he was an employee occurred in a follow-up post. I was specifically referring to this:

At the moment there is absolutely zero reason to consult the wiki. It is worthless from a new player's perspective. The several times I did go there looking for information, it is nonexistent. I don't want to be rude, but do the players need to explain to the devs how to play and explain the game?

I don't need to be told how weapons work, they are very self explanatory. What you need to focus on are the game play intricacies which need to be explained to the new players to attempt to encourage people to invest in this game.

Though I believe your intention was trying to be helpful, it did come off aggressive. Even SolSys responds accordingly by needing to clarify he isn't a developer and it wasn't the type of response he was expecting. (It must be said that tone is impossible to tell on a written forum, so there is always a lost in translation moment when relaying intent.) My only point is that he is a community member trying to make the wiki better, and you came down hard on him saying the wiki is worthless. He is trying to improve it. Community wiki's take time to develop, as you surely know. Honestly, your annoyance is justified as not having a manual for the game was a clear oversight by the developers, and the wiki is not a good substitute (at least not yet). Your criticism was absolutely not the most scathing found on the internet, but in this community, we should be trying to support each other. We all want a better game. Let the scathing comments come from outside this community.

Also, I wasn't trying to lecture you on technical writing. So my apologies if it came off that way.

The overriding question based upon your reply is why would someone who knows nothing about a game and openly states he doesn't have time to play it or scan the forums be in charge of writing the wiki? You want to understand why half the forum is up in arms about the quality of the release? This might be an example worth citing.

However, when you state something like this, I do feel the need to defend the writer. As you have worked on games and as a professional writer, it strikes me as odd that you would say something like this, let alone think it. Hence why I mentioned technical writing and only needing the code to write a good manual. Writing a manual and writing a strategy guide are different, of course. I do agree with you in that sense. You need to have played the game to be able to truly write on the best strategies to win. Yet writing about the weapons, taxis, or other mechanics/characters of the game can easily be done with just the code. Just my opinion.