Template talk:Npc infobox

Category
I am not any kind of authority on this kind of thing but can't just using the infobox categorize as NPC without each NPC needing a ? --Claret (talk) 13:39, 13 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Since all NPCs are also automatically placed in the main NPCs category, there's nothing wrong with having some more specific sub-categories — Game widow (talk) 17:21, 15 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I didn't make myself clear. Take Captain Rana, although I have seen this in other NPCs. The captain has an infobox, also, at the end of the page is . This categorization seem superflous as the infobox auto-categorizes. Or am I reading things wrongly? --93.97.28.254 19:43, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Sorry, that idiot obviously was me, lol. No, you don't have to add an extra Category. This prolly was left over from the first NPCs we did, before there was any infobox. Sorry, that I confused you with this. Encredechine (talk) 11:06, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

Parameters
I am not a template writer, I have not got the knowledge to write or edit them. However, I have worked with them on other game wikis, mostly the Guild Wars 2 one. I would like to make a few suggestions before we have too many NPCs and altering them would be a big chore.
 * (1) The level can change depending on the circumstances, the phase etc. We should be prepared for multiple values and value ranges as well an un-valued. See below for separators.
 * (2) The location can vary. Several NPCs move with the story-line. - see below for multi values
 * (3) Faction . see faction/faction2 - every time there are multiple values like this, the game finds a new one, see below for multi values
 * (4) rank, might well change - unsure about this
 * (5) Services - see services/services2/services3 etc - every time there are multiple values like this, the game finds a new one, see below for multi values.
 * (6) abilities - see below for multi values
 * (7) quests - see below for multi values


 * Multi values - it was found useful to put these in a delimited list and for the infobox to parse the list and format itself according to the parameter. In GW2, the comma was used as a list delimited but there were problems with this, retrospectively, another delimiter might have been better eg semicolon. So, as an example |service service a;service b;service c |location location a;location b;location c etc.  The GW2 wiki also largely did not use the xx link in parameters but thats another matter.


 * Additionally...




 * I hope this makes sense. --Rhynchelma (talk) 18:17, 21 March 2014 (UTC)
 * yes, it does make sense, however, adding an extra field to a template is a cinch and the newly added field is automatically made available to all pre-existing uses of that template, so i don't mind adding extra fields as they arise. That said, i've never played with using delimiters within a field to organize them and that's an interesting thought, so i'll play around and see if i can strike a balance here. One advantage of having separate fields is that it works very well with auto-categorization.
 * As for ranges of values, those are absolutely fine. You are also quite right about the name field and any unused fields are simply not displayed, so they are nothing to worry about — Game widow (talk) 15:40, 24 March 2014 (UTC)


 * OK, that's fine. In the GW2 wiki, the name parameter defined the canonical name and was useable in links although I do not know the mechanism. Can we do that here? I can't remember an example but it was useful from time to time. --Rhynchelma (talk) 20:30, 26 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Re-visiting this, we need either linked or plain text multiple locations, see Sugar Claws and I KNOW there will be more. --Rhynchelma (talk) 00:13, 31 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Unless you want location1 location2 etc. Whichever you choose, --Rhynchelma (talk) 00:15, 31 March 2014 (UTC)
 * ah yes, i see the issue, i'll see what i can do, but the simplest thing is multiple location fields. I will try to make the logic accommodate multiple locations, but if it's beyond my skills, then we'll have to go with multiple fields. — Game widow (talk) 03:01, 31 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I've added a field called "more_locs". Now, if the npc comes nominally from a single location, then use the location field as before, if you want to list more locations, the additional locations should go into this new field which has not fancy formatting or logic. locations listed in the new field can be separated by line breaks and they can still be linked if you like, but that will have to be done manually. — Game widow (talk) 11:59, 31 March 2014 (UTC)