The Last Starwiki:Style guidelines

This article provides guidance on how to make quality contributions to this wiki. Don't let these guidelines scare you away from contributing!

Article organization

1. Naming articles:
   1. Titles should be written in proper gramatical sentence case, except for proper nouns, acronyms and titles based on in-game items or systems.
      • Correct: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
      • Incorrect: The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog
   2. Use full names for any articles you create. Create a redirect page for abbreviations and alternate spellings.
   3. Titles name should be singular so they can be linked while appearing either singular ([[article]]) or plural ([[article]]s), without the need for redirects.
2. Header names: The same rules that apply to naming articles apply to headers
3. Article size: Articles should be big enough to comprehensively cover a single subject.
4. Templates: Templates help to organize content. See Category:Templates full list of available templates.
5. Categories: Always group articles into categories. If you are unsure which category fits best, start a discussion on the article's talk page.

History

Since The Last Starship is still a work in progress, things change over time. This can be confusing when players look up solutions to problems they might run into. For this reason, we try to keep track of changes in equipment and game mechanics.

When a new build is released and changes how something operates, create a History section on the page. Changes should be listed chronologically from older to newest as shown below:

==History==
{{History|1.0|Introduced.}}
{{History|1.1|Adjusted power consumption from 100 MW to 150 MW.}}
{{History|1.2.37|Sewage now has a visual indicator.}}

File uploads

To keep things consistent and predictable, file uploads should be named using Pascal Case:

• The first letter of each word should be capitalized
• There should be no spaces, hyphens, or underscores between words

For example, Air Reprocessor sprite.png would be written as AirReprocessor.png.

Writing style

1. Write objectively, not in the first person.
   • Correct: Players can focus on mining to make money.
   • Incorrect: I always build a lot of drone bays and mining lasers.
2. Use a third-person narrative when possible.
   • Correct: The player can build a waste treatment system to convert sewage to water.
   • Incorrect: You can build a waste treatment system to convert sewage to water.
3. Use a semi-formal register.
   • Correct: It's recommended to focus on converting CO₂ in the air to oxygen early on.
   • Incorrect: You should obviously convert the CO₂ on your ship to oxygen first.
4. Emphasize limitless possibilities.
   • Correct: There are multiple ways to deal with meteor showers. One strategy is to…
   • Incorrect: The best way to deal with meteor showers is to…
5. Write in general, abstract terms.
   • Correct: The gatling gun is excellent at destroying asteroids
   • Incorrect: Build exactly 4 gatling guns on your ship to protect against asteroids
6. Capitalization should only be used for the first letter in a sentence, and proper nouns. The name of game mechanics do not count as proper nouns.
7. Please use gender-neutral language such as they instead of he or her
8. The wiki views both US and UK English as acceptable, and there is no need to correct between them. However, consistency throughout a page is appreciated.
9. If you need to refer to a date, use only an unambiguous format.
   • Correct: 11 July 2022; July 11, 2022; 2022-07-11
   • Incorrect: 07-11-2022; 11-07-2022

Wiki formatting

1. Wikis work through the use of internal links to other pages. The first instance of any other page should be linked with square brackets [[like this]]. Subsequent instances should not be linked.
2. Do not emphasize text with underline or CAPITALS, use italics instead. Bold text is discouraged.
3. Do not personalize articles by signing them or naming game concepts after yourself.
4. Avoid using links in Section names. Please use Template:Main instead.
5. Do not use HTML code where wiki code exists to perform the same function. This includes plain lists, paragraphs, and line breaks.
6. Avoid using the tier 1 title wherever possible.
7. Indent bullet points using multiple asterisks (**) instead of the colon followed by an asterisk (:*).

Duplication of information

Duplication of information is frowned upon and should be avoided where possible. Duplication leads to increased maintenance and conflicting/outdated information.

If a piece of info seems relevant to another article, there are several ways to include it without outright copying it:

1. Creation of a sub-header using the Template:Main template immediately under it. Follow it with a concise summary of the target link.
2. Create transclusion sections on the target page and then transclude it to the desired article. For example:

Add this to the transclusion target:

<section begin=NAME/>
... CONTENT ...
<section end=NAME/>

Add this to the article which will include the transclusion:

{{#lst:Target|NAME}}