Help:Style guide

This article explains how to create articles, both lore and gameplay guides, that are clear and informative to a player. Much of this guide is taken from Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles, and has been parsed down for better relevancy to Space Station 13 and Aurorastation.

Structure of the Article

Good articles start with introductions, continue with a clear structure, and end with standard navigation boxes and categories. Articles start with a lead section summarising the most important points of the topic. The lead section is the first part of the article; it comes above the first header, and may contain a lead image which is representative of the topic. In a lore article, it may contain a lead image and/or an infobox that provides a few key facts, such as locations, languages, and species. As a rough guide to size, a lead section should generally contain no more than four well-composed paragraphs.

Paragraphs

Paragraphs should be short enough to be readable, but long enough to develop an idea. Paragraphs should deal with a particular point or idea. All the sentences within a paragraph should revolve around the same topic. When the topic changes, a new paragraph should be started. Overly long paragraphs should be split up, as long as the cousin paragraphs keep the idea in focus.

Headings

Headings help clarify articles and create a structure shown in the table of contents. Headings are hierarchical. The article's title uses a level 1 heading, so you should start with a level 2 heading ==Heading==) and follow it with lower levels: ===Subheading===, ====Subsubheading====, and so forth. Whether extensive subtopics should be kept on one page or moved to individual pages is a matter of personal judgment.

The table of contents contains links to direct a reader to a specific section of the article. By default, the table of contents will drift to the left. To move the table of contents to the right, use {{toc_right}}. To get rid of a table of contents entirely, place __NO TOC__ at the top of the page. A long page should use the {{TOC Hidden}} template. Place TOC templates at the bottom of the introductory paragraph.

Writing Gameplay Guides

Consult an expert on the gameplay. Even if you consider yourself an especially good player, errors can still surface. Ensure you have someone to proof-read your article who is aware of the mechanics behind it.
Keep your explanations as succinct as possible. Use short, simple sentences and clear language. Ensure your guide is free of grammatical errors, run-on sentences, and other information-obscuring errata.
Do not include bugs, exploits, or other unintended behavior in the guide.
Use bold to emphasize lifesaving information. Use italics to put stress on a word, or differentiate it from a proceeding or succeeding statement.
Provide a brief explanation of a technical term when it first appears.
Do not use the most effective method in a guide. Provide and encourage room for exploration of different or better methods.

Writing Lore Pages

As stated on the Wiki Staff Guidelines page, it is required that work-in-progress pages be avoided. In practice, what this means is that a wiki page should have each section filled out and ready to present before being pushed to the wiki. There should be no "finish later" or "WIP" text under a section. However, elements of the section can be expanded upon after their release.

Lore pages should be proofread by the lore team they apply to to ensure no continuity errors, spelling mistakes, or grammatical errors (or at least as few as possible) make it to the live page. The Lore Team Administration can also be consulted for large, wide-ranging changes, but this is not strictly necessary. Sections in a lore page should strive to stay at or below four paragraphs. If they extend over four paragraphs, the section in question should be trimmed, moved to its own page (if a faction page or capital planet), or sectioned under a collapsible box.

Writers should strive to avoid hard numbers on population. Percentages are generally acceptable when describing a demographic.

The tone of a lore page should remain should remain formal, impersonal, and dispassionate. Ambiguity in in-universe events or history can remain present, and is strongly encouraged to be included.

The exception to this tone is quotes, which should be limited to one per section. They should generally be formatted with the quote (in quotation marks) in italics, a hyphen, the name and occupation the quote is attributed to, and the context of the quote. An example is:

“The people of Biesel could all collectively protest for a century. It still won’t change anything, because power in the Republic does not lie with people. It lies with corporations.” - Hugo Beasley, “A Himean In Mendell City”, released 2464

The year the quote is from is relevant if the quote is from a "published work", such as a book or movie. If the quoted individual is deceased, their date of birth and death should be next to their name, as exemplified:

“I think there are better ways to build a society than draining the life and light from its best citizens.” - Mahmud ibn Amin (2328 - 2419), physicist and second leader of “Project Hubris”

In lore wiki articles, the usage of bold text to denote emphasis on written dates or persons should be avoided. One exception is the name of the subject within the introductory paragraph of the article, such as:

In the core worlds of Humanity’s power and built upon the center of the largest phoron deposits in the known galaxy, the Federal Republic of Biesel is an independent state and the economic and social centre of the Orion Spur.

If a section is elaborated on further on a larger page, the link to the page should be underneath the header of the section and italicised. It should look like:

See also: Biesellite Culture and Society

Planet and Faction Pages

A full, complete planet or faction page should have the following sections:

A brief introductory paragraph, summarising basic elements of the subject. Do not put an "Overview" header over this paragraph.
If the page is a faction, Population and Planets, in which the planets of the faction are listed and described in brief.
History, in which the planet/faction's history is explained
Environment, in which the planet's landscape, general climate, and basic atmospheric composition is explained
- An environment section is also where the planet's continents and its star system should be elaborated upon, provided its system does not have its own page (such as Tau Ceti or Sol).
Economy, in which the planet/faction's economy is elaborated upon. Currencies, industries, employment, and megacorporate involvement should be included here. Megacorporate involvement should have approval from the Lore Team Administration. If the planet/faction has its own corporations, these do not need to be approved by the Lore Team Administration unless they are involved with the megacorporations.
Politics and Government, in which the planet/faction's governmental system should be elaborated on. Political parties and common ideologies can be included. Note that if a planet is already part of a faction, they do not require a Politics and Government section (but it can be included if relevant).
Culture and Demographics, in which the general culture and attitudes of the planet are expanded on. This is the widest-ranging section of the page; it is where content such as cuisine, language, societal attitudes, media, common sayings, architecture, art, fashion, etc. can be placed under. If a digression on a specific aspect of culture extends for more than two (2) paragraphs, it should be placed under a subheading.
- If the planet has a significant population of immigrants, whether they be humans from another nation or aliens, this can be placed under a subheading. The relevant page describing the species abroad should be linked, such as Skrell Abroad or Unathi Abroad. Make sure to consult with the relevant lore team when including demographics from alien species teams.
  - Crime, if included, should also be placed under a subheading in Culture and Demographics.
Military, in which the planet/faction's military and armed forces are described. This includes branches, general actions, and structure. If the planet is part of a larger faction, this section is not required.
Technology, in which the planet/faction's notable technological advances or specializations are expanded on. If the planet is part of a larger faction, this section is not required.
If the page is a planet, Major Cities/Population Centres, where a number of major population centres can be described in brief. This should range from one to two paragraphs. Not applicable to faction pages.

Species Pages

Species pages are structured slightly differently than faction pages, but otherwise the general rules for formatting and style should be observed. Anything relevant to the species that cannot be categorized within these boundaries is permitted to be organized as the author sees fit.

A basic species page should have the following sections:

A brief introductory paragraph, summarising basic elements of the subject. Do not put an "Overview" header over this paragraph.
Heads of Staff, or a section in which the jobs that the species or their subspecies can take are elaborated on.
- Relations with Megacorporations is a subsection where the species' relationships with megacorporations, and which ones will employ the species, is elaborated on. Some megacorporations may not employ Vaurca or specifically free IPCs, for example.
Mechanics, where the mechanics such as the strengths, weaknesses (such as damage modifiers), language keys, and features are explained in bullet-point form. Non-mechanical traits can also be elaborated on here, but are suggested to be placed in Biology, Culture, or Social.
Biology, in which the species' general appearance, lifespan, internal biology, morphism, colour ranges, and diseases can be elaborated on.
History, in which a brief history of the species is explained; this can be its own page.
Culture, in which the species' general culture should be explained. This should have subheadings, and can link to multiple pages depending on the factions within the species, and the length of the content.
- Language, diet and cuisine, entertainment, media, and holidays should be within this section.
Social, in which the species' social workings should be explained. This should likely also have subheadings and multiple pages.
- Societal attitudes, religion, and relationships should go in this section.
Politics or Factions, in which the notable factions within the species should be elaborated on. For Vaurcae, this can mention the Hives; for Skrell, the Free Traverse or an expansion on the structure of the Nralakk Federation, etc.
Interspecies Relations, in which the species' attitudes towards humanity and other species, as well as any internal strife or differing views, can be documented.
Playing the Species, which is intended to be a more out-of-character guide to how to portray the species for a player writing a species application. This can also be its own page separate from the main species page, depending on the length.