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GameID Confirmation Guide: Difference between revisions
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*Please note that when adding a new ID it takes a little while for the page's infobox to pick it up, so don't be alarmed if it doesn't pop up right away. For those who are impatient, a new ID can be forced to show up with [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Purge purge]. | *Please note that when adding a new ID it takes a little while for the page's infobox to pick it up, so don't be alarmed if it doesn't pop up right away. For those who are impatient, a new ID can be forced to show up with [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Purge purge]. | ||
=== ID abnormalities === | |||
Currently the wiki is undergoing an effort to try and understand some of the odd IDs that can appear. Examples of this would be titles which have a different first three characters for different region releases (usually happens with Japanese versions), special Walmart/Best Buy release versions, strange region codes, etc. In these cases, it's recommended to add a little sentence on the ID's page below the redirect with a few details about the ID. For example, for games with multiple European releases (most often P/X/Y/Z region codes), these can be differentiated most easily by language, so listing the languages for each ID on the redirect page can help clarify where each ID saw release. It won't interfere with the function of the ID or with the redirect, unless a second <nowiki>[[link]]</nowiki> is added to the ID page after the redirect. This currently breaks the wiki's ID DPLs and should not be done. | |||
== Sources == | == Sources == | ||
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==== [http://www.redump.org/ Redump.org] ==== | ==== [http://www.redump.org/ Redump.org] ==== | ||
Redump.org is a trustworthy site dedicated to disc preservation across many different consoles; its archives can be considered close to the title's cover in validity. When there's no good cover scans available for a title, this is the next most verifiable source for IDs available. The site itself also includes some helpful formatting, such as showing region flags next to the IDs in the database and listing title languages to pinpoint where European IDs had their release. Redump's main flaws are: a) | Redump.org is a trustworthy site dedicated to disc preservation across many different consoles; its archives can be considered close to the title's cover in validity. When there's no good cover scans available for a title, this is the next most verifiable source for IDs available. The site itself also includes some helpful formatting, such as showing region flags next to the IDs in the database and listing title languages to pinpoint where European IDs had their release. Redump's main flaws are: a) only GameCube titles are shown publicly, not Wii titles; b) it doesn't document publisher data, so piecing together the last two character publisher ID is challenging. In conclusion, Redump is a great place to check outlier GameCube IDs, but does not contain enough information on its own to be a primary source. | ||
==== [http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Title_database WiiBrew Title DB] ==== | ==== [http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Title_database WiiBrew Title DB] ==== | ||
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==== [http://www.gametdb.com/ GameTDB] ==== | ==== [http://www.gametdb.com/ GameTDB] ==== | ||
GameTDB is huge and contains almost all GameCube and Wii IDs and covers, along with some other miscellaneous data like title languages similar to Redump. The problem though is that GameTDB is not as reliable. There are invalid entries on GameTDB, low resolution/wrong covers making it hard to check entry validity (___X__ region European IDs having ___P__ region covers as a consistent problem), questionable developer and publisher information, etc. The actual IDs though are generally correct, and this is the only source other than a personal dump or the NUS that contains full 6 character IDs like the Dolphin wiki uses. Because this is fairly trustworthy but not perfectly so, it is still recommended to check against one of the more reliable sources above before mindlessly posting IDs from GameTDB onto the wiki. However, in the case of a retail Wii title with no good cover scans for example, this becomes the most reliable source and there's no choice but to trust it until someone with the title can confirm/deny the ID directly. | GameTDB is huge and contains almost all GameCube and Wii IDs and covers, along with some other miscellaneous data like title languages similar to Redump. The problem though is that GameTDB is not as reliable. There are invalid entries on GameTDB, low resolution/wrong covers making it hard to check entry validity (___X__ region European IDs having ___P__ region covers as a consistent problem), questionable developer and publisher information, etc. The actual IDs though are generally correct, and this is the only source other than a personal dump or the NUS that contains full 6 character IDs like the Dolphin wiki uses. Because this is fairly trustworthy but not perfectly so, it is still recommended to check against one of the more reliable sources above before mindlessly posting IDs from GameTDB onto the wiki. However, in the case of a retail Wii title with no good cover scans for example, this becomes the most reliable source and there's no choice but to trust it until someone with the title can confirm/deny the ID directly. If you know for a fact an ID or cover on GameTDB is incorrect, please [https://www.gametdb.com/Main/Contact use the contact form to request it be removed or fixed]. | ||
Keep in mind that the way the website is organized, every single ID has a set of links at the top that allows instantly browsing to the next or previous ID alphabetically. At first this might seem like an oddity but it's one of the best features of the site. This can be useful for example in cases where the wiki erroneously contains two separate pages for the same title, as they will often come next to each other in an alphabetical listing. Multi-region releases of titles often don't share a name between countries, so sometimes overseas if a publisher is not clear that it's the same title, databases can get confused and list them as separate. The one flaw with the next/previous ID system is that GameTDB lists hacked IDs in along with their normal IDs, so for very popular titles like New Super Mario Bros. Wii for example, many page loads would have to be gone through to reach the official IDs for the title. In these situations, try and use GameTDB's .txt inventory of all IDs instead, which can be acquired [http://www.gametdb.com/wiitdb.txt?LANG=ORIG here] (starts download). | Keep in mind that the way the website is organized, every single ID has a set of links at the top that allows instantly browsing to the next or previous ID alphabetically. At first this might seem like an oddity but it's one of the best features of the site. This can be useful for example in cases where the wiki erroneously contains two separate pages for the same title, as they will often come next to each other in an alphabetical listing. Multi-region releases of titles often don't share a name between countries, so sometimes overseas if a publisher is not clear that it's the same title, databases can get confused and list them as separate. The one flaw with the next/previous ID system is that GameTDB lists hacked IDs in along with their normal IDs, so for very popular titles like New Super Mario Bros. Wii for example, many page loads would have to be gone through to reach the official IDs for the title. In these situations, try and use GameTDB's .txt inventory of all IDs instead, which can be acquired [http://www.gametdb.com/wiitdb.txt?LANG=ORIG here] (starts download). | ||
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==== [http://www.gamefaqs.com/ GameFAQs] ==== | ==== [http://www.gamefaqs.com/ GameFAQs] ==== | ||
GameFAQs, on the whole, is a terrible place to get IDs, plagued with filled-in ID characters and false assumptions between different regions. But as it is recommended to find release data for titles while doing ID confirmation, GameFAQs ends up being a high priority visit anyways as their release information is extremely good. The rule of thumb here is, never trust GameFAQs' IDs without a second source. The first three characters are all that can reliably be obtained from them; not only do they omit the publisher code again, they also just fill in the region code by the region of release, NOT what the ID actually is. So do NOT blindly trust the region codes from GameFAQs; instead, try and use their uploaded covers when possible. | GameFAQs, on the whole, is a terrible place to get IDs, plagued with filled-in ID characters and false assumptions between different regions. But as it is recommended to find release data for titles while doing ID confirmation, GameFAQs ends up being a high priority visit anyways as their release information is extremely good. The rule of thumb here is, never trust GameFAQs' IDs without a second source. The first three characters are all that can reliably be obtained from them; not only do they omit the publisher code again, they also just fill in the region code by the region of release, NOT what the ID actually is. So do NOT blindly trust the region codes from GameFAQs; instead, try and use their uploaded covers when possible. | ||
== Miscellaneous tips == | == Miscellaneous tips == | ||
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What this does, is finds all IDs on the wiki with publisher ID 28 (i.e. [[:Category:Kemco_(Publisher)|Kemco]]), and lists them from the last edited to the most recent. With this someone could easily go through and add an edit to each ID, and the same DPL would update during the process to keep the oldest edit on top. | What this does, is finds all IDs on the wiki with publisher ID 28 (i.e. [[:Category:Kemco_(Publisher)|Kemco]]), and lists them from the last edited to the most recent. With this someone could easily go through and add an edit to each ID, and the same DPL would update during the process to keep the oldest edit on top. | ||
[[Category:Tutorials]] | |||