This style guide will serve as a guide for layout, grammatical choices, style of writing, etc, specifically for the Raft Wiki. There may be situations in which it makes sense to diverge, but try asking another editor first.
Getting started
If you're a new editor, welcome and thank you for wanting to improve the Wiki! The first thing you need to know is that you are always welcome to do small or large edits to any page that needs it. With that said, there are a set of guide lines you need to follow when editing the Wiki. This page has information on the Raft-specific ways of doing things, but there is also a Gamepedia-standard we like to follow. If you're new to editing, you definitely want to check that standard out. And fair warning, there are two ways of learning how to edit: you either copy what you see on the Exemplary Pages or you read guides until you get it. In other words, if you're good at logically deducing format and tendencies from Exemplary Pages, feel free. If you're more of a learn before doing, check out the guide.
With that said, enjoy your time here and have fun. Pick out your expertise or become a jack-of-all-trades - it's up to you!
Headers
The following headers are generally used on all pages, as long as they are applicable. They are listed in the order they should appear on a page. Pages categorized as Animals or Environments do not need to include all headers. If there is no known trivia concerning a specific item, it's simply left out.
If the article calls for any additional information that does not fall under a header, or goes under a specific theme that calls for its own section, additional headers can be included. Look at the Engine page as an example, as this one includes the header "Speed". This is a relevant topic that takes up more space than would look good in the summary section. As such, it gets its own header.
Summary
Answers the questions that applies to the entry:
- Items
- "Where is the item found, and how is it collected?"
- "How is it acquired (or available from start?), and what is its primary function?
- Animals
- "Where is the entity found, and how does it act?"
- Environment
- "Where it is located and what it contains (items, structures, objects)?"
Uses
Note: These are used on Items pages only
Used for items, and written in bullet-in form (*). Keep it simple and specific. Do not go into details unless they are actually useful (alternative uses are fine).
Trivia
Out-of-game facts, previous functions, bug exploits, and the like goes here. Try to verify claims before writing them in. Speculations can quickly add a lot of unnecessary information.
History
All entries should have a History section including when the game was added, and any changes made to the item after its inclusion. The first entry should always be: "[Item Name] added to the game." Use punctuation. Any changes should shortly summarize the changes to the entity. Additions are added in ascending order, meaning that the newer changes should be above the first entry:
{{History|early access}}
{{History||Update 8|A change was made to Example.|Also another change was made to Example}}
{{History||Update 7|Example was added to the game.}}
{{History|foot}}
will result in:
| Early Access | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Update 8 | A change was made to Example. | ||||
| Also another change was made to Example | |||||
| Update 7 | Example was added to the game. | ||||
Gallery
Pictures relating to the page. Make short and precise descriptions of what's in the picture with capitalized start letters except for propositions and articles (Example: "Shark in the Water" or "The Biggest Stone on the Island"). Keep it to 2-3 pictures.
References
If the fact can have a reference, feel free to add it at bottom of the article.
Grammar and Linguistics
Linguistics
Attempt to be consistent with the other pages. Use the pages listed on "Category:Exemplary_Page" as an example for how to write a page.
- Use "the player" when referring to the person playing. Do not use "you".
- By default, Normal Mode is the mode in focus on all pages unless something else is stated.
- All pages start with the sentence: "[Item Name] is a [Category link] (Group name) in Raft". Sometimes, the item is listed in plural, in which case the relevant words are changed: "[Item Names] are [Category Name] [group name] in Raft". The [group name] may refer to objects within the Environment category, or elements within the Structures category. If you're in doubt, check out other pages of the same category.
Grammar
Use oxford commas (comma before the last item when listing: My friend, his girlfriend, and myself).
Numbers
The first ten numbers (1-10) must be spelled out. When in doubt, check this guide. There are a number of situations where writing out the number looks weird, or big numbers that must be written out. Following is a quick run-through (more info in above link):
When to use numerals:
- The number 11 and up should be written as a numeral.
- All percentages, i.e. 4%.
- All numbers relating to time, i.e. 3 minutes, 7 seconds.
- When listing item requirements, i.e. 5 Planks, 2 Ropes.
When to spell it out:
- Numbers zero to ten.
- When the number is at the start of a sentence.
- When two numbers are next to each other, only one can be written out.
If there are multiple numbers in one sentence that don't follow the rules above, be consistent, even if you have to break some of the rules.
Media
Pictures, GIFs and the like must be under 8MB to be uploaded. Make sure all pictures and GIFs show only the main subject and is not littered with other objects unless necessary. Crop images to remove unnecessary information.
All pages concerning visualized content should have pictures of said object in a gallery or GIF. Pictures can be uploaded directly to the Wiki by using the Edit Source function. In the top of the editing field is a "Drop files here" bar. After uploading the files they should be used in one of the following ways:
Galleries
Galleries are used as a gallery for more images in an article. They mostly can't be directly in an article, but they need to be in a separate section.
This is a syntax of Galleries:
<gallery mode="nolines"> Example.jpg|This is a Correct Formatted Caption Example.jpg|This Caption is Different </gallery>
Pictures
Single files can be used using the following code in the Source Editor:
[[File:FILENAME.jpg|left|This is a Description]]
Make sure the filename also contains the right filetype (.jpg, .png, etc.).
Note: When using templates, few templates don't need [[File: before filename. Make sure you hit "Show preview" to preview if it doesn't break.
Videos
Videos function properly when uploaded as a media file to the Wiki. When using videos, it is mandatory to use them with the following code, so they are all identical in how they act.
{{Video|Warthog_Water_Strategy.mp4}}
In this above example, the video is uploaded to the wiki as "https://raft.gamepedia.com/File:Warthog_Water_Strategy.mp4". The result will look as follows:
ItemText
The template ItemText is used to link items with their matching icon. The item and its icon links to the English version of the page by default, but this can be changed for translated pages. This can be used when listing items made with a specific item. As an example, let's list the use of the item Leather:
* {{ItemText|Backpack}} (4)
* {{ItemText|Leather Helmet}} (4)
* {{ItemText|Leather Body Armor}} (8)
* {{ItemText|Leather Greaves}} (5)
This will show as follows:
Backpack (4)
Leather Helmet (4)
Leather Body Armor (8)
Leather Greaves (5)
To translate the items, add the translation language code ("/de" for German, "/fr" for French, etc.) and change the link destination:
* {{ItemText|Backpack/de|Rucksack}} (4)
* {{ItemText|Leather Helmet/de|Lederhelm}} (4)
* {{ItemText|Leather Body Armor/de|Lederweste}} (8)
* {{ItemText|Leather Greaves/de|Lederbeinschützer}} (5)
This will result in the following:
- Rucksack (4)
- Lederhelm (4)
- Lederweste (8)
- Lederbeinschützer (5)
Versions
With versions on Wiki, we allow only planned changes, that were confirmed by developers/Community Manager.
Versions shouldn't be a copy-paste from the Steam page, and code should look like this
{{Update
|name=Update name
|date=Release date
|image=File.ext (where ext is extension, mostly .png)
|planned=If planned, 1, if not, then there is no need to include
|prev = previous version or hotfix
|next = next version or hotfix
}}
'''Update Number (Official Update Name)''' is an Update to [[Raft]], released... It adds (*max 3-5 things).
== Additions ==
; Name of item
* Something about it
** Some additional info about it
* Other thing about it
; Another item
* Something about the item
== Changes ==
;
== Bug fixes ==
;
== References ==
Infoboxes
The Raft Wiki currently uses 3 different infoboxes: the item infobox, the enemy infobox and environment infobox.
- The item infobox is used for all in-game items that has an icon.
- The enemy infobox is used, as its name suggests, when describing enemies.
- The environment infobox is used in environment pages.
In all 3 infoboxes, all available information must be applied to the best ability of the editor. If available the description has to match to the in-game information.
Links
A thorough Wiki has links to all relevant pages when possible. As a rule of thumb, the first time something is mentioned that has a page (or should have), it should be linked and capitalized, i.e. Clock. All following mentions of this page is still capitalized, but no longer linked, i.e. Clock. If the editor is in doubt whether a page exists or should, there are two steps to take. Firstly, search for the page with the expected name - try synonyms if it doesn't exist. Secondly, consider how much information could go into the page and whether it justifies creating it. Feel free to create any page you think fits the criteria.