[SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

[Dynam0]

StepMania Wiki

So I've been tinkering away mostly out of boredom on the SM wiki and what started as a way of updating the WR tables more efficiently, developed into this potentially cool idea. The goal is to have individual wiki pages for simfiles which are categorized by note charter.

Here's a rough idea of what to expect when using this feature:

Easy navigation from the main page

Alphabetical list of note charters (this may potentially get more messy depending on the scope, right now there are 254 artists)

Selected note charter's body of work including collabs (unfortunately not alphabetized completely).

Individual chart summary page reminiscent of the Bemanistyle simfile database allowing for more in-depth information and graphics for a more identifiable chart. (this may help when trying to find simfiles). I will definitely organize this info into a table if more pages will be detailed like this.

The two major roadblocks for getting this done are TIME and ORGANIZATION. Although this looks fairly easy to use, depending on the amount of files in the system it could be a pain to sort through without a good search function. The other thing is it will take a ridiculous amount of time to make pages for each chart; the only nice thing is that this is wiki script and is easily formatted by anyone. (You can make pages for your own simfiles wut wut?!)

I'm as far from a programmer/coder as they come, so making these pages isn't difficult. I'm actually hoping to hear better ways of doing this, this was a little side-project I'd been doing while I was bored and I thought I'd see where it goes.

How to make your own pages

Naming form for pages:

For organizational purposes, naming needs to be consistent across the board with the same formatting style. For example, the naming format for the song page in the OP is shown below.

(IcyWorld) Liberi Fatali

1) Because square parentheses have specific functions in wiki script, you will have to use round brackets rather than square ones if they are present in the song title. Some other special characters like # will not work like this as well so be careful.
2) Be sure to have the simfile artist name as it corresponds to the cd-title even if it is an old alias in parentheses. For aliases that were abbreviated in the cd-title, use the full alias. For example Rog = (Rogdor) and Roar = (Roar176)
3) You may separate characters with either the space bar or underscores. If there is an underscore in the actual title though, it will not show up on the wiki page title.
4) The song title should be named as it appears in the song select screen without the subtitle. Any special foreign characters are okay too...I have been using English transliterations in lieu of Japanese characters for now.
5) Indicate if the simfile is a revision from a previous version (v2/v3 etc.) as necessary. For example: (DukAmok) Since 1983 v2
6) For collab files with multiple authors, simply include all relevant authors in the round parentheses and separate with a space.
For example: (Baq12 mi40) Salieri Strikes Back


Actually creating the page:

To create the page you just named, type the page title into the search field on the left side of the screen. If no pages of that name have been created yet, it will prompt you to create that page. Click the red text and you will see a field that you can add content to.

For beginners, copy the template below into the edit page field to set up your page

[[Image:Filename1.png|500px|thumb|Background by: (insert credit)]]
[[Image:Filename2.png|250px|thumb|Banner by: (insert credit)]]
Song Author: (Author name)

Subtitle: (if applicable)

Charted by [[Username]] in (insert date if applicable)

Released in:

(List the packs this simfile is present in here)


[[Category:SimfileArtistGoesHere]]

==Notes==
(enter text here)

*NOTE* - The first two lines of text in the template are for graphics.

Adding Graphics:

To add graphics to your page, the original background and banner files respectively should be uploaded to the wiki. Be sure to give these files unique names first to avoid problems with identical file names being uploaded (doesn't work). To upload the files, simply use the "upload file" tool on the left side of the page. When the file is uploaded successfully, it should generate a file name (for example Background.png). Copy these file names into the first two lines of text in your page and wala!

Finally:
Be sure to include the category line in your page. Without it, your page will not show up when you navigate to the simfile artist's category.

[DefTeaMachine]

Re: [SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

Looks okay.
Good luck with that tho.

[Wayward Vagabond]

Re: [SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

if there was a way to consolidate all files for an artist including aliases under one name that would be cool

really awesome though wow

[noname219]

Re: [SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

if there was a way to consolidate all files for an artist including aliases under one name that would be cool

really awesome though wow

You can use redirections if someone has multiple aliases and move files into a main page + list those aliases on that page. If it was only me, I would move everything into normal pages and not use categories to list simfile authors (generally easier to manage over time).

@ Dynamo : If you want to move the WR into their own pages, why not create a leaderboard ?

There's some work on the structure/organization to make it clear for everyone. It can be done.

[GammaBlaster]

Re: [SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

time to put in warnings on all my old files

[moches]

Re: [SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

I think this is a fantastic idea and I'd be willing to help. In the future this could even be integrated with my Annotated Stepmania project (enbedding YouTube videos into the Wiki, perhaps?)

When I have time I'll go and add all of my files.

[Leo137]

Re: [SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

It could be integrated with the stepmania online song database to get the leaderboard information, all sorts of cool things could be done, but im probably getting too excited, great job , i will contribute putting some info of my files

[Dynam0]

Re: [SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

Yes, the possibilities are pretty unlimited when you think about it...it's just a matter of effort


So far I have redirects from Cleaner88HPi to GammaBlaster and Ninshikou to HST so the files are consolidated under a common alias. I would need some people to help out with other aliases because my knowledge of stuff like that is limited.

@noname, I see how using actual pages would be less messy but how could this be done easily without categorizing? Most people already have their own page, you can simply throw a link to their "profiles" in the category with simfile listings below.


Adding a leaderboard for each simfile will be tough if we want to keep these up to date...it's tough just managing the WRs sometimes; however, if someone could find a way to integrate real-time stats like SMO into these then have at it. Seems impossible or very involved to me. The biggest crux of this whole thing is naming and continuity. Avoiding duplicates/mixing files up etc.

[firemon22]

Re: [SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

where do u go to add? im on the wiki but idk what to do after

[Dynam0]

Re: [SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

Everything you need to make pages is in the OP now. ^_^

[DefTeaMachine]

Re: [SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

I need to update my page but its a massive pain in the ass on a cell phone.
Meh.

Just feels weird that my page consists entirely of rip roar power XD

[noname219]

Re: [SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

@noname, I see how using actual pages would be less messy but how could this be done easily without categorizing? Most people already have their own page, you can simply throw a link to their "profiles" in the category with simfile listings below.

There's no easy way I can think of.
It's less confusing (simfile authors don't have two separate pages) and it's easier to search "by-default" - you need to display everything to see categories. I would convince you more to do it this way instead if there was no solid ground to work on, but since there's already a shit ton of files added into the wiki, it's too much work atm.

[Dynam0]

Re: [SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

I need to update my page but its a massive pain in the ass on a cell phone.
Meh.

Just feels weird that my page consists entirely of rip roar power XD

Work in progress my friend, the majority of artists on there only have a file or two right now xD

@noname...so the other way would rely on naming the song pages entirely different? If the names can stay the same, there wouldn't be very much work to do at all to fix it. Even if it meant starting from scratch again though, I'd rather do something the best way than an okay way

[noname219]

Re: [SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

Wasn't talking about the name of the song pages.

Was referring to the categories. Moving the song links from the simfile author category to a page for the author.

[Dynam0]

Re: [SM Wiki] Simfile Artist Database

That is easily done and is far less work than renaming pages, just a lot of copy-pasting. The only potentially annoying thing is that songs will need to be added -and more importantly sorted- manually to each artist's page. Also, I will likely have the simfiles show without the artists name in brackets; example: [[(Zaghurim)_St._Scarhand|St. Scarhand]] so it only shows the song title.

I feel like the "Biography" part of the artist's page might conflict with the simfile database aspect and would be too much of a chore to sift through things to find information on a simfile you're looking for. Scylaax's page is a great example of a detailed biography, but seems counterproductive for quick-searching simfiles.

I'll test some of this out over the next few days and see where it goes.