User talk:TheSpectator

Competition
Looks like you have some competition, main page: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Main_Page / subcatagory Oblivion: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion, but dont worry your site is way better than theirs so its not like your losing a supporter/viewer/writer. They have some good stuff that you (?might?) need and are a wiki site so you have permission to take it, as from the previous comment, I can see you want to be origional but your going to need some help along the way so here it is. Also try having more pictures for all the stuff, as a suggestion, maybe you could get pictures for the mini-maps of each quest, such as the layout of a building, pictures of all the items, NPCs, etc.

How did you make this "mini" wiki site, I am thinking about making one myslef (a different topic than yours) and have no idea about the details.


 * We aren't competing with UESP, who has been around for over a decade since the original Elder Scrolls games. Both of our sites offer unique content presented in different ways, just like the many Oblivion-related and Elder Scrolls-related sites are unique in their own ways.
 * As for creating this site, I didn't create it, I merely manage and contribute to it. Gravewit runs the site (along with our sister sites) and servers. You can talk to him about how to run wikis because I don't know much myself. I believe Wikipedia can give you some information on wikis (see the links at the bottom also). Wikia is a collection of many wikis and you might be able to start your own.
 * Feel free to start adding content and screenshots to the site. I'd prefer if you added new talk at the bottom of this page, instead of the top ;-). Lastly, please sign your comments on talk pages with four tildes like this: ~ . -- theSpectator talk 19:42, 29 September 2006 (CDT)

Needed Information
Hey, there are a few things that you dont have withing your quest section, such as the starting npc, and possible but not guaranteed rewards and how to get them. Although the information is on a copyrighted site, http://www.gamebanshee.com/oblivion/mainquest.php (check the side panels for all quests and other info), you can still borrow their information using the MLA citing format (for help with MLA, http://www.oslis.k12.or.us/MLACitations/secondary/index.php, NOTE: you must not alter the format that is given to you, ie: adding or removing returns, spaces, etc.). Along with citing you must also use parenthetical citations,

ie:

Web page.

Abraham Lincoln's birthplace was designated as a National Historical Site in 1959 (National Park Service). Note: Internet citations follow the style of printed works. Personal or corporate author and page number should be given if they exist on the website.

if you would like me to do the citing for you, you can contact me at kill_dozed@hotmail.com


 * I agree that our Main Quest-related articles needs some work (wording, expansion, pictures, alternate walkthroughs, etc.). However, our articles pretty much have the jist of the main quest, and they actually do contain starting NPC and other information; it just doesn't clearly label it on the top. I would prefer not to use information from other sites, copyrighted or not, as OblivioWiki strives to build it's own content. The exception is regarding Elder Scrolls lore, as we don't have an ES-lore buff around, and we only briefly summarize history (The Imperial Library and UESP are great sites for ES history and lore). However, feel free to clean up and expand the main quest articles yourself. -- theSpectator talk 09:36, 29 September 2006 (CDT)

FA/Collab templates
Do you think you could throw together an infobox template that one could put onto articles that are nominated for Collaboration or Featured Article? and perhaps. They could say simply something like: "This article is nominated for ___, visit (FA) / (Collab) to vote and discuss the nomination".--Patito 09:03, 7 September 2006 (CDT)


 * Okay, done at Template:Fac and Template:Collab-nom. Feel free to reword them as well. -- theSpectator talk 19:03, 8 September 2006 (CDT)

The Vile Lair
Hey Spec, I was wondering if you had The Vile Lair official plug-in, or if you knnow if there's anyone else on Obliviowiki who has the plug in. I've run into a problem with the two levelled items that the mod adds, the Raiment of the Crimson Scar and the Crimson Eviscerator. I don't have the proper base value and need to confirm the max armor value, but I can't seem to get a hold of the levelled items beyond the first level version, especially with the Crimson Eviscerator, regardless of the level of my character. It also won't let me add the item with the console and I haven't found it in the testing hall either. I've tried dozens of times and wasted hours trying to get these items to no avail and I've given up so I was wondering if there is someone else who could try and fill in the missing information on those articles to make sure it's not just me being an idiot. Thanks. \*\ Hellhound43 10:46, 11 September 2006 (CDT)


 * I have the mod, though I haven't had time to actually go through it yet. I'll see if I can play around with it sometime this week (hopefully) and let you know if anything turns up. Great job with the work you've done on those mod articles, by the way! -- theSpectator talk 21:42, 11 September 2006 (CDT)


 * Thanks! LOL, I just noticed that there is a leveled item page, as I'm getting into putting in all the levelled stuff. I found it odd that it was spelled that way but I looked it up and both spellings seem ok. But the page is too long and will get longer if it keeps being added to so I'm going to take out the tables and just keep the links (and fix them, the Apron of Adroitness isn't light armor). Should I include a brief description of each item? I also re-made the TES3:Morrowind page today. I'll start the expansion pages later this week along with more levelled items. So I'm going to be pretty busy but if you have anything you'd rather I work on first just let me know and I'll hop to it :). \*\ Hellhound43 22:02, 11 September 2006 (CDT)


 * Good work with the Morrowind article; I also felt that what it originally had (the copied info) was inappropriate, so thanks for taking that up and rewriting. Feel free to work on what you wish! I've also updated the main page with the new featured articles and collaboration projects we've been working on. -- theSpectator talk 22:06, 11 September 2006 (CDT)


 * The main page looks good. Maybe it's just my computer, but the Arena page's featured article signifier is a small imageless "box" (for lack of a better word) in the very top right corner outside the standard bounds of the article, in both firefox and IE. The Tamriel page looks good with the collaboration box though. \*\ Hellhound43 22:30, 11 September 2006 (CDT)


 * Yeah, I noticed the imageless box as well on my computer (I use IE), though it had worked a few days ago. I'm not sure why it might be like that. -- theSpectator talk 22:32, 11 September 2006 (CDT)

Castle Varaldo?
I seem to have stumbled onto something interesting, and I'm not exactly sure what to make of it. I was working in the TES:CS trying to figure out the extents of the province of Cyrodiil for a map I'm making for the ingredient page, when I spotted a cell by the name CastleVaraldoExterior. It's the only cell that begins with castle, so naturally curious I loaded the cell in the render window and looked at the objects in the cell. To add more to my curiosity I found nothing but trees, rocks and flora in the cell. So I checked to see if there was an interior cell with a similar name, and there is one called CastleVaraldo which contained a throne and a bunch of silverware and static objects, but no cells refrence this interior. Instead of just opening it in the render window I decided to load up the game and teleport myself there. It's pretty dark but there are lights, and the room looks like the Castle Leyawiin throne room, with the adjacent dining hall. There are four display cases, some silverware in the dining room, but weirdest of all, all the chairs are backwards, including the throne chair.

So I'm really not sure what to think of this and wondered what you might think (or know?). Did the developers use this as a test cell? Abandon a quest idea? Future official plug in (crosses fingers)? If you'd like to check it out:
 * coc "CastleVaraldo"
 * coc "CastleVaraldoExterior"

Confused and Curious, \*\ Hellhound43 20:05, 15 September 2006 (CDT)


 * It's probably a leftover testing stage for something. like the testinghall. --William Blackstaff 09:13, 16 September 2006 (CDT)


 * That's the conclusion I would have come to if there was no exterior cell for it like for the testinghall or toddtest or hawkhaven (which is in it's own world). But the fact that there there is one for Castle Varaldo indicated to me something that was removed or unfinished. I am kind of hoping for an official plug-in that caters to combat characters sometime soon. To me, castle format would be the best suited for a warrior character to give a lord sort of feel to it instead of the lone wizard or the dark assassin or the pirate king. \*\ Hellhound43 11:28, 16 September 2006 (CDT)


 * I have no idea if this is any relation, but there are rumors of another plugin titled "Dragonfire Castle", which is supposed to be a castle that is oriented towards warriors and warrior lords. See this image from an article (don't know which magazine it's from). Doing a Google on "Dragonfire Castle" reveals some interesting rumors:
 * Forum topic on Gamespot
 * Forum topic at Xbox.com
 * Forum post at HDTV Arcade Discussion
 * So yes, it's possible, like the Orrery, that the developers put it in and didn't finish it, so that it could be released as a plugin later. However, I don't know if this is Castle Varaldo, or if it's something completely separate. -- theSpectator talk 16:48, 16 September 2006 (CDT)


 * Well, after looking at the image, the exterior cell for Castle Varaldo is a very hilly region similar to the picture, but I can't seem to find a view direction that would give a similar mountain range so maybe I'm wrong. I guess we'll have to wait and see, but the Dragonfire Castle sure does sound nice. Thanks Spec. \*\ Hellhound43 19:48, 16 September 2006 (CDT)

Eras
Hey Spec I'm working on the Era articles and I was wondering if it would be ok if I just copied the descriptions for each of the five eras from The Imperial Library and then cited the source page as being from the Imperial Library. The only other thing with that is that I would be doing a fair bit of modifying of the contents of the timelines as some of the descriptions have very bad grammar. It would still certainly save me some time though rather than rewriting it all from scratch as that's where my main source is anyway. Also, I was wondering if I could get your opinion on the map (or maps, I'm not sure yet) for the flora that I'm in the beginning process of making by e-mailing it or something before I upload them on the server. It probably won't be ready for another week or two, but I'm going to start working on it tomorrow afternoon. Let me know, \*\ Hellhound43 22:09, 21 September 2006 (CDT)


 * I would say yes, however, I think it'd be more appropriate if you asked them first, since I don't know what licenses they're under and how they would take rewriting of their work. -- theSpectator talk 00:56, 22 September 2006 (CDT)


 * True, but overnight I thought about it and I've decided it would be best if I just linked to the appropiate pages. \*\ Hellhound43 09:18, 22 September 2006 (CDT)

Something Strange
Something stange happened and I'm a bit confused but it may warrant a ban or three... First of all I just reverted a page edit to the claymore page from 24.70.95.203.

Secondly, this comment was posted on FireFox's talk page (see recent changes list):

Hi.

''Hiya, not to seem rude, but would you mind packing up and leaving? ... or doing me... in bed? 172.200.93.236 14:39, 26 September 2006 (CDT)''

Then just afterward the user changed the IP to show:

Hi.

''Hiya, not to seem rude, but would you mind packing up and leaving? ... or doing me... in bed? Gravewit 13:37, 26 September 2006 (CDT)''

Eight minutes later 88.111.121.120 made two comments on the page, first:

But I can't seem to get onto the page from the second edit (difference page or current version of the page), but I get this error:

''A database query syntax error has occurred. This may indicate a bug in the software. The last attempted database query was: (SQL query hidden) from within function "MediaWikiBagOStuff::_doquery". MySQL returned error "1205: Lock wait timeout exceeded; try restarting transaction (208.100.1.138)".''

I believe that last IP is for the server at my college.

Actually it looks like every time I try to access the page the server clogs up, or at least my browser does. This looks like vandalism to me but I'll leave it to your decision. Should I also post this on Gravewit's talk page?? \*\ Hellhound43 16:43, 26 September 2006 (CDT)


 * Blocked the two FireFox talk spammers for a week. Warned the claymore guy. The reason for the errors and server stuff is that Gravewit is transferring to new servers (see: the blog), so I think it's just temporary stuff. -- theSpectator talk 21:06, 26 September 2006 (CDT)

New FA Image
I've got a first draft of the FA Image, but I need to know how many pixels it needs to be. Let me know so I can upload it, \*\ Hellhound43 20:48, 26 September 2006 (CDT)
 * I'm not sure how many pixels it should be. Just upload it and we'll see how it turns out. -- theSpectator talk 21:06, 26 September 2006 (CDT)


 * Ok I uploaded the image and as you will see it is rather large. From this point feel free to do with the image as you wish or you can just ask me here if there's anything you'd like done to it. EDIT: I re-uploaded a smaller version of the image that still looks almost as clear. It's still about twice as big as you're current FA star. \*\ Hellhound43 21:47, 26 September 2006 (CDT)


 * When I'm done with my next version of the FA image should I just overwrite the current [[Image:FA-star.png]] FA-star.png image, or upload it as, for example FA-star2.png? Let me know, \*\ Hellhound43 23:03, 26 September 2006 (CDT)


 * Hmm... You can overwrite the old one. Much easier than uploading a new one, changing the links to the new one, and deleting the old one. I doubt we'll be using the old one in the future. Also, you can still leave the Image:Oht.png as that could potentially be used for something. -- theSpectator talk 00:16, 27 September 2006 (CDT)




 * 0o, having a problem with overwriting the Image:FA-star.png old file, see the page's history for my uploads in between reverts. For now I reverted it back to the old version, and uploaded the large version. Not sure what's going on there, but it's only a draft for now anyway. Over the next few days I'm hoping to improve it, I was thinking of putting a wrinkled paper texture behind it, similar to the shop signs in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Let me know if you think of anything regarding the problem or on how to improve the image. Is the old small [[Image:FAdraft.png]] going to be deleted? \*\ Hellhound43 07:56, 27 September 2006 (CDT)


 * I looked at the history of the older picture (FA-star), and your uploads looked okay with me. But it's alright and we can just leave it lik that. I was playing with Template:Featured article and there is a slight difference between FA-large and FAdraft when small in size. Either looks okay with me. Compare:
 * FA-large at 12px: [[Image:FA-large.png|12px]]
 * FAdraft at 15px: [[Image:FAdraft.png|15px]]
 * As for the texture background, give it a try and upload another version. We may or may not need the background for something like Template:Featured, if we want to match the background to the background color behind the text. -- theSpectator talk 08:30, 27 September 2006 (CDT)


 * Maybe it's just the computer I'm on at the College but the FA-large looks better at 12px, but still kind of sketchy. I think I'll work on a special "icon" version later after I get home tonight, and another slightly larger 30px version for the Template:Featured article. \*\ Hellhound43 09:02, 27 September 2006 (CDT)


 * Ok I've uploaded the new image sizes and resized the image on the template to better show the image. The only possible problem now is that the FA images (either of them) don't fit into the top right of the article properly. \*\ Hellhound43 17:52, 27 September 2006 (CDT)

At Template:featured article, the little icon in the corner is cut off, so I resized it to 15px. -- theSpectator talk 19:10, 27 September 2006 (CDT)


 * Looks good, I think that about wraps it up. Thanks Spec. If you need anything just leave a message on my talk page. \*\ Hellhound43 19:26, 27 September 2006 (CDT)

Downloads?
In case you haven't noticed, a while ago a new member with no other contributions posted a new section on the item page with a link to a zip file that is supposed to contain ID's for all the items. I don't see why this is necessary as we already have lists in item IDs. I don't want to just revert the page just in case so I'm wondering what you thought about this as I'm getting a leery feeling about it :-/. \*\ Hellhound43 23:02, 27 September 2006 (CDT)


 * You can just remove it and link to the item IDs page from there. -- theSpectator talk 08:00, 28 September 2006 (CDT)


 * Done. \*\ Hellhound43 08:05, 28 September 2006 (CDT)

Un-needed Extras
I feel really dumb right now, but I think I have it all figured out. First would you like me to move all that mess at the top of the page to the bottom? Also, a user, Mattw, has loaded a newer an ineffective and possibly copyright infringed map on maps. All he did was copy and paste over the copyright tag with a picture editing program, I went and found the site of the rightful owner, which happend to already been linked under the title Cyrodiil and just added to the external links in maps by me. I do not know your preference on these acts but do as you will. Sorry for junking up your page so much, Ill try not to for now on.

Killd0zed 21:26, 29 September 2006 (CDT)

^ P.S. I think I understand but is this how I am supposed to sign it? If not please explain.